


Perspective (and Outlook)

by realMurph



Series: MFSWeek 2020 [3]
Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, F/F, Fluff, mfsweek 2020, side pairing- tally/glory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24897748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph/pseuds/realMurph
Summary: MFSWeek Day 3: non-magic auA new client comes in to the shop and Raelle is a goner right from the start.Scylla decides to get some new ink done from the best tattoo artist in town andoh no she's hot.
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Series: MFSWeek 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800214
Comments: 131
Kudos: 411





	1. The Tattoo Parlour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back again for Day 3 kids! "Non-magic au" is pretty vague so I threw in an extra, well-beloved au scenario because why not! If you haven't yet, go check out [mfsweek](https://mfsweek.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr and look at all the wonderful creations by other artists, writers, and gif makers!
> 
> So... this spiraled pretty quickly from a one-shot into a long-ass... thing. :P So! Here is the first chapter, the rest are already almost written, and when mfs week is over I'll be posting the rest every few days.
> 
> As always, shout out and huge thanks to my faithful beta, [suchbeautifuldoubt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchbeautifuldoubt), she's amazing and encourages me to use more paragraph breaks so this shit is readable. Also find her at [tallycravens](https://tallycravens.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, because she's that awesome.

Raelle was _exhausted_. 

Her nine hour shift turned into nearly eleven as she received a last-minute call out to a nasty six-car pileup on the freeway. Part-time or no, being an EMT still took its toll. She was happy to have the next several days off until her next shift and fully looked forward to enjoying nothing but her other love: tattooing. She would just make a quick stop by the shop to make sure her space was fully stocked still and then head home for a shower, food, and sleep- in that order.

The chimes tinkled softly above her and she pushed the heavy door open and shuffled into Circe Tattoo. Tally installed that chime, as opposed to a standard doorbell. She said it would be softer and nicer than the harsh bell the building came with, and so far she had been right. After spending more hours in this shop than her own (shared) apartment, those chimes felt like coming home to Raelle every time she set foot inside.

“Welcome to- oh hi Raelle!” The cheery greeting came from Glory, their shop manager and Tally’s best friend (until Raelle could convince one of them to make a MOVE ALREADY). “It’s late! I thought maybe you went straight home or something.”

“You know me Glory, I never do anything straight,” Raelle responded with a wink. 

She dropped her over-the-shoulder bag and jacket in a heap on the couch by the door and made her way over to the front desk, reaching over to blindly feel around for the mail stack. Glory smacked her hand away in an effort to save her organized desk space and handed Raelle her pile like a civilized person. She took it with a somewhat apologetic smile and dropped herself down into one of the plush leather sofas along the wall, taking a slow deep breath and letting herself relax for a minute, eyes closed. 

From the back of the shop, she could hear the sound of a needle whirring, and soft chatter. _Tally, then. Abigail never talks while she works._ From the backroom door behind the desk, she could hear the faint sound of someone clattering around and swearing. _And there’s the Bellweather herself._ Raelle smiled to herself, listening to her girls work and letting the familiar sounds wash over her and melt the stress away-

“Hi! Welcome to Circe Tattoo! What can I help you with?” Goddammit. Raelle grumbled to herself at the intrusion and cracked an eye open. And then cracked the other eye open. And then sat up fully on the couch, staring wide-eyed at the girl who just walked in.

A hand reached up to brush dark, mid-length hair out of a face Aphrodite would be jealous of. Dark blue eyes and the _softest_ looking mouth (on the world’s sharpest jaw) quirked up in a half-smile as she went from looking around the shop, to Glory at the desk, who had spoken.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking about a tattoo for a while and this place has the best reviews.” Her voice was… _stunning_. Low and smooth, it made Raelle’s skin tingle in the best way. The mail slid from her hands to the floor, forgotten. She found herself leaning forward to catch every word as it fell from the girl’s lips. “And I looked through your website too, the artists here have really nice portfolios.”

Glory leaned back and rapped on the backroom door. “Abigail! You’re never gonna believe this. This girl actually did some research before coming in for this _very permanent_ thing!” 

A muffled _Bullshit!_ could be heard through the door before it opened and Abigail’s head poked out, scanning the room before landing on the almost-client in front of the desk. 

“Language Abigail, let people put some money down first before you scare them off.”

Abigail came around to lean on the side of the desk. “Hey, I’m Abigail, I own this place-” Before she could continue a voice from a room in the back yelled, “Co-own!” Abigail rolled her eyes, “Yeah, Tal! Thanks!” Turning back she said, “Anyway, I _co_ -own this place, and I’m one of the artists. Why don’t you tell me what kind of art you’re looking for and we’ll set you up with an appointment?”

The girl nodded and pulled out her phone. A few taps later and she showed it to Abigail saying, “I liked this artist the best. Her use of color really stood out to me and I think it’ll work for the tattoo I want. Her name’s Raelle.” 

Raelle didn’t hear anything she said after that as her mind came to a screeching halt. _Holy shit she said my name. Wow. It never sounded that good before. I mean, damn she says it so nice, would it be weird if I asked her to say it again? Yeah that’s probably- Wait…_ Raelle’s mind finally caught up with her internal breakdown and realized _why_ the girl had said her name: _MY portfolio? As in, ME do her tattoo?_ As Raelle privately celebrated-slash-panicked, she finally tuned back into the conversation.

Glory was saying, “I’m so sorry but Raelle isn’t taking any new clients right now. She’s booked pretty solid for the next few months. I’m sure Tally or Abigail would be happy to take you on though, they’re both very talented.” Abigail winked at Glory and a “Thank you!” came from the back. The girl frowned slightly, absently tapping the back of her phone.

“Oh, well, I sort of was set on-” She didn’t get a chance to finish.

“I can make time for you!” Years from then, Raelle would look back and still never remember exactly when she shot up from the couch, or exactly when her brain put in for vacation time, or exactly when she okayed those words coming out. Nevertheless, there she was: standing, no brain in sight, words out. 

And now everyone was staring. 

The whirring of the needle in the back stopped.

The girl quirked an eyebrow and looked her over before smirking at her. “I’d make time for you too, for sure, but I’m here more for the tattoo right now.”

“That’s me! Uh, not a tattoo, obviously, but-” Raelle stopped and lowered her hand (when had she thrown that out?? As if to stop the girl from leaving) and threw herself over to the desk, yanking open her file drawer and pulling a sketchbook out. “Um, I’m uh, the artist, hold on.” 

She frantically flipped through the pages, looking for a finished piece, completely oblivious to the incredulous looks she was receiving from Abigail and Tally, who had at last finished with her client and emerged from her room. She found a piece she deemed acceptable and shoved the book towards the girl saying, “See! Here you can look through this if you want. Uh, I’m Raelle. I...probably should’ve just led with that.” Raelle rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as the girl took the book from her, eyebrow raised.

“Nice to meet you Raelle. I’m Scylla.”

 _Scylla._

Raelle worked on getting her last remaining brain cells under control while Scylla flipped through the sketchbook, an impressed look slowly spreading across her space. Eventually she looked up and smiled, and Raelle’s heart skipped a beat. _If this is a heart-attack it’s fine._

“Wow, these are really good! I was right, you do have an eye for color.”

“Oh, Raelle has an eye for all sorts of pretty things…” Raelle resolved to put vinegar in Abigail’s shampoo later. In the meantime, she settled for a stink eye before turning her full attention back to the possible goddess in front of her.

“So as I was saying, ahem, calmly, I don’t mind making time, since you went ahead and did your homework on me, er, us. I have time tomorrow?” Internally, she winced at the loss of her first day off in almost two weeks, but she didn’t mind too much if it stopped Scylla from finding a different artist.

Scylla nodded, mercifully, and replied, “I have to work but we can meet on my lunch hour? One o’clock? There’s a cafe down the street from here, if you don’t mind going there.”

The mercy of Sappho herself was the only thing that got a coherent sentence out of Raelle’s mouth after that. “Sounds good, I’ll be there.”

“Great! See you tomorrow!” She handed the sketchbook back to Raelle, who watched her leave, mouth still slightly open, barely registering Glory saying to Tally, “uh, she forgot the consulting fee.” She stared at the door long after the girl had gone, heart stuttering, long enough for something hard to go sailing into the center of her back before hitting the ground with a _thud_. Raelle whirled around and saw a bottle of water on the floor next to her. She glared up at Tally, who was trying not to laugh (and failing) and Abigail who said:

“Sorry, you looked thirsty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> More MFSWeek to come, as well as some other projects, so don't miss out!
> 
> As stated, the rest of this is mostly written and will be published every few days after this week is over. Be sure to subscribe to the story so you don't miss out!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	2. The Consult

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raelle and Scylla meet for their lunch not-date and tattoo consult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a very refreshing break post-mfsweek I am excited to get back into things! Here is Chapter 2 of the tattoo/flower shop au, and they rest will be posted every few days. They'll be rotated with posting my other chapter fic, Ceding the Crease.
> 
> Also returning is my dedicated beta [suchbeautifuldoubt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchbeautifuldoubt), who decided it would be cool to make an edit AS I WAS POSTING. You can find her at [tallycravens](https://tallycravens.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr and tell her how awesome she is, and to go to bed earlier.

Raelle’s palms were sweating the next day as she stepped out of the shop to head to her not-a-date-don’t-be-weird with Scylla. She had spent the morning planted on a couch in the corner, pouring over her portfolios and filling her sketchbook with her best samples and photos of her past tattoo designs. She didn’t know exactly what Scylla wanted but she had mentioned color, so Raelle had focused on that. She’d spent more time preparing for this consult than she had with almost any of her previous clients.

Eventually Tally had to come over and snatch the sketchbook away, giving her a Look until Raelle relented and realized she was going a bit overboard with the whole thing. 

_ She’s just another client, be chill. Is she also the most stunning girl to ever set foot in this shop? Yes. But still. _ Out loud she said, “I don’t have a problem, stop judging me.”  _ Yeah that sounded convincing, nailed it. _

Tally just cocked an eyebrow and said, “I have never seen you prepare for a  _ consult _ this thoroughly. ‘Winging it brings out my best work,’ I believe is what you say. But yeah I’m sure it means nothing.”

Raelle glared. “Yeah, like leaving a concert half-way through and driving two hours back home in the rain because she texted you she had a bad day also means nothing,” she shot back, with a meaningful look towards Glory. 

Tally’s eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder to see if Glory had heard the exchange, but fortunately she was engrossed in her book-keeping. Tally had turned back to Raelle and glared, saying nothing, but taking the sketchbook and putting it on the top shelf of a nearby bookcase. 

The rest of Raelle's time before leaving to meet Scylla had been spent attempting to find a dignified way of getting it down, failing, and letting her pride recover after she gave in and got a stool.

Now though, she was trying to put that behind her and focus on the challenge at hand. An unforeseen wrench in the plan.

There were at least three different cafes down the street from the shop.

Raelle stood near the closest one, looking between all of them and trying to decide which one Scylla had meant.  _ Off to a great start, awesome. Get it together Collar, it’s your own dumbass fault for not getting more details with your fog brain. _ She clutched her reclaimed sketchbook closer to her chest and was about to head into the nearest one and look around when-

“Come here often?”

The universe was having fun with her. Because when Raelle spun around (she did  _ not _ jump) at the sound of that  _ voice _ a breeze picked up that  _ perfectly _ blew Scylla’s hair back, and the sun lit her face  _ just so _ to make her eyes sparkle, and  _ goddam she looks pretty again today. Is she always like this? _

Raelle couldn’t stop herself from running her eyes over Scylla’s form, appreciating the way her jeans hugged her curves and the short-sleeve blouse, tucked in all the way around,  _ just _ the right shade of blue to bring out her eyes. She felt almost grungy in comparison in her ripped skinny jeans, ratty high-tops, and an oversized tank top.

Far too late to be anything but an awkward silence, she finally replied, “Oh hi! Uh, sorry if I’m late, I couldn’t figure out which place you meant,” and laughed awkwardly, shrugging. Scylla smiled reassuringly.

“That’s Ok, I actually didn’t realize there was more than one cafe on this street. I just moved to this area.” Gesturing to the street she added, “Do you have a favorite?”

Raelle brightened.  _ Thank fuck, a question I can actually answer without looking like it’s my first time talking to a person. _ “Yeah!” She pointed to the one next to them, that she had been about to enter. The sign on the building was green and simple, with gold lettering. “Jimmy’s Sidewalk Stop is pretty good, we order lunch here pretty often,” she said. “Wanna sit outside? It’s nice out.” 

Scylla smiled and nodded so they grabbed one of the free outside tables and settled. Raelle laid her sketchbook on the table and began arranging a few of the pieces she had selected earlier as a waiter came and took their orders. 

By the time they were alone again, Raelle felt much calmer and confident in her element. This was her job and she was good at it, and the nerves faded away.

As Scylla began looking over the art Raelle asked, “So, what kind of design did you have in mind? And if there’s a story behind it I’d love to hear it. The more you tell me, the better I can make this tattoo.” Coherent and confident, nailed it.

Scylla leaned back in her chair and eyed Raelle. “You’re really talented, these are beautiful.” Raelle couldn’t help but preen a little, sitting up a bit more in her seat and shrugging nonchalantly, which made Scylla laugh. “Clearly you already know that. Well that’s good, I’d want someone who knows what they’re doing.”

“A tattoo artist you mean?”

“That too.”

Raelle leaned back herself now, regarding the smirking girl in front of her.  _ Cannot believe she flirted before I did. Well. Game on then. _ “You’re in luck I guess, because I definitely know what I’m doing and I happen to be very good at it.” And she brought her hands up to tap her fingers together. 

Scylla startled slightly, before blushing, maybe not expecting such a bold response.

“At tattooing you mean?”

“That too.”

They were interrupted, for the sake of the children, by their waiter returning with their food. Raelle cleared the table a bit to make room and soon they were too busy eating to continue  _ that _ line of discussion. After a few minutes though, and between bites, Raelle brought things back to business.

“So you still haven’t actually told me what you want. Also, ‘where’ is good to know as well. Affects the size and placement; the design needs to fit the contours of that part of your body.” And she very deliberately gave Scylla another once over. Scylla chuckled and rolled her eyes before bringing out her phone.

“It’s a...plant. Sort of. A specific kind. I have some pictures of it. But as for where…” She put her phone down and extended her left arm. Her other hand came up and curled around her bicep and began to drag upwards. “I want the majority of it here, going up to my shoulder, but there are these...tendrils. I was thinking they could come up over my shoulder and reach across my chest a little.” She drew a few lines with her finger up over her shoulder: one curling around the back, a couple a short way across the top of her chest, and one slightly up over her collarbone.

Raelle swallowed thickly and replied, “Plant? Yes, I can do that, I know what those are.”  _ What in the sweet fuck Collar? What was that?? Congrats idiot you know what fucking plants are. _ “I mean, I have done plants and flowers before, and blending those kinds of colors are my specialty.” 

Scylla smiled brightly at her.“Yeah! I saw some of them on your website; they were really amazing! I’m hoping you can do the same for me.” 

Raelle was completely disarmed by the smile Scylla now leveled at her: no trace of smirk, no flirting, just a genuine compliment and a genuinely  _ beautiful _ smile. Raelle stared at her for a moment, a soft grin beginning to spread across her face, before she shook herself out of it and cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Ah, right, I certainly will do my best. I’m in this with you, you know? My reputation on the line and all.” She swiped a hand over her face to hide her embarrassment at  _ that _ cheesy-ass line. “So… the plant?”

Scylla had picked up her phone again, seemingly not having noticed Raelle’s self-induced distress. “Ah, you know, I don’t think any of these Google pictures do it justice. I can show you a real one though.” And she pointed over her shoulder, farther down the street.

A few doors down was a small building with brightly painted windows and a sign that read: Thistle Do Nicely. It had a few lovely potted plants on the window ledges and ivy-covered lattice around the doorway. A new flower shop, new since Raelle walked this street almost everyday and she had never seen it before.

Scylla continued, “If you don’t mind walking over, that is. Promise not to take too much more of your time with this,” she added with a sly grin. Raelle flagged down the waiter.

“It’s not an inconvenience, trust me. And I’m off today anyway-” The words were out before she could stop them.

Scylla’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “You’re off? Then why would you agree to a consult?”

“Uh, well, you know it’s not a problem. Like I said, not a huge inconvenience. And I like making new designs anyway.” Pulling her brain cells together she added, “Plus the company’s not bad either.”  _ Decent save. _

The waiter arrived as Scylla blushed again. Before Raelle had a chance to react though, Scylla had grabbed both bill pockets and slid her credit card into one, handing them back to the waiter before she left. 

“You can combine those please, I’m buying.” The waiter nodded and departed again as Raelle looked at Scylla, mouth slightly hanging open in confusion. “Well since I deprived you of an hour or so of freedom, and I did see something on your website about a consult fee, I figure lunch can be on me and we’ll call it even.” 

Another smile, and Raelle just nodded blankly. The waiter returned as Raelle was finishing packing her stuff away and set the now-combined bill back on the table, as well as a small bag of food. Raelle looked up, confused.

“From Jimmy. He says he’s worried you don’t eat enough, what with the other job and all.” She smiled and left while Raelle blinked in surprise at the bag of food.

“You know the owner here?” Came the first inevitable question. “I’m guessing that’s who Jimmy is.”

“Uh, yeah,” she grabbed her art and food and stood along with Scylla. “We order from this place a lot, like I said, and we’re just regulars now I guess. Jimmy’s a nice guy.”

As they started walking towards the flower shop Scylla asked the second inevitable question: “So, what’s the other job?”

“Ah, well…” Raelle paused, and not just to check for cars in the street. But Scylla interrupted.

“You don’t have to tell me, sorry, I wasn’t trying to pry.” She smiled reassuringly and Raelle nearly tripped.

“No, no, it’s Ok. I’m an EMT, part-time.” She finished stuffing her sketchbook back in her bag and pulled out her EMT badge. “It’s not a huge secret or anything, just sometimes people have weird reactions about it. They either think I’m some kind of hero, which is just way over-the-top, or they want to hear all the grossest stories, which I don’t particularly like telling,” she finished with a shrug as they reached the other side of the street.

Scylla stared at her for a moment before replying. “Sorry that is hard to sell without sounding just a little heroic,” she said teasingly. “But I promise not to fawn or anything. It is kind of amazing though.” 

Raelle just blushed and shrugged and ducked her head.

“It’s fine, I guess. Just something I’m good at and like to do. So,” she brightened her voice a bit in an attempt to change the subject, “what’s the deal with this flower shop with the amazing name? The owner won’t mind us poking around and drawing pictures?”

Scylla winked at her as they approached the door. She reached out to open it, ushering Raelle in first and said:

“Don’t worry, I know an owner too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	3. The Flower Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scylla shows Raelle around the flower shop and things heat up in a room that is definitely meant to stay cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this up like a day or so ago but LIFE *shrug*. 
> 
> As always, thank you to my lovely beta [suchbeautifuldoubt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchbeautifuldoubt) who's time management is about as terrible as mine <3\. Find her at [tallycravens](https://tallycravens.tumblr.com/) and tell her she's awesome even when she sleeps until 1.
> 
> Disclaimer: everything I learned about plants and fungi came off Google and my friend Chloe who's digging for beetles in east Cali right now.

Scylla pulled the door of the shop open and ushered Raelle ahead of her, both to be polite and to mask her nervousness. The pictures on her phone were perfectly fine- she had taken them herself- but as the lunch had been drawing to a close she’d suddenly had the overwhelming desire to  _ not _ let her time with Raelle end yet. It was some intoxicating combination of the tattoo artist’s confidence, flirting, endearing awkwardness, and  _ attractiveness _ that led her to invite the girl over to her shop. 

She stepped through the door behind Raelle, taking a deep breath of the shop’s many pleasant fragrances and letting them soothe her nerves. After locking the door behind them, she turned to find Raelle examining the intricately woven vines in the lattices surrounding the entry area. She continued around to the miniature roses on display in little window boxes on a table nearby.

Raelle had a small smile on her face when she turned and said, “This place is really cute. I’ve never seen flowers this tiny,” she added, running her finger gently along the miniature petals.

Scylla half-smiled and replied, “Yeah they’re bred special. They’re easy for people in apartments to maintain when they can’t have a big garden.”

Raelle nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense.”

She wandered over to the checkout counter that was near the door, and her face brightened when she noticed the many mini cacti.

“Oh, these are succulents right? I always wanted to get one of those, they’re super cute. Tally likes them too but Abigail says they’re pointless,” she finished, rolling her eyes. Scylla could sense fondness though.

“Yeah, all the mini stuff is pretty popular. People seem to think they’re easier to take care of than regular size plants. It’s really not hard to take care of  _ any _ plants as long as they’re in the right environment though. I guess that sounds complicated to people but really it’s the same as getting a cat instead of a dog if you live in a tiny fifth-floor apartment in the middle of a city,” Scylla finished with a shrug.

Raelle peered at her. “You seem to know an awful lot about this stuff,” she said, sounding impressed.

“Well I come here a lot,” Scylla replied, finding it infinitely more amusing to let Raelle figure it out herself.

Raelle nodded and continued poking around the displays. Scylla leaned against the counter, content to watch her, and took mental note of the flowers and plants that made Raelle’s eyes just a little brighter.

Eventually Raelle finished her perusing and returned to Scylla.

“There’s definitely no shortage of color here,” she said with a light laugh. “There’s lots for me to work with. So!” she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. Scylla was intrigued to see the excitement coming out in Raelle. “Where is this ‘plant- sort of’,” she asked, framing the words in air quotations.

“Ah, that. Follow me.”

Scylla headed past the back counter- for custom orders- to the backroom door. It was a swinging double door, with plastic sheeting on the inside and rubber flaps around the edges to block airflow.

Raelle paused in following her.

“Um, are we allowed back there? It says ‘Staff Only’ on the door,” Raelle pointed out.

Scylla turned and winked at her.

“Come on, live a little!” she said, a hand on the door.

Raelle glanced around the little empty shop and at the other staff door behind the checkout counter, before smiling and eagerly heading through the door, Scylla following close behind.

~.~

Scylla was very amused, and a bit smug, watching Raelle explore with her eyes wide and no small amount of awe on her face. The room was cool and dry, necessary for its unique inhabitants. Raelle poked around the various tables, fascinated by the odd little bits of nature stationed on them.

Fungi.

They were bright and colorful, and incredibly diverse. They were big, small, some had tendrils or looked like tiny bulbs, and  _ all _ looked like they could’ve come out of a Dr. Seuss book. Or maybe Lewis Carroll.

This bit of unexpected magic was tucked in to the left half of the back room, sealed off for temperature and atmospheric control, while the other half was for deliveries and assembling custom orders.

_ Well she hasn’t yelled “Ew!” yet, so that’s a good sign. _

Scylla found a bare patch of wall to lean against while Raelle looked around, content to let the other girl explore on her own.

Eventually, Raelle found her way over to where Scylla waited, eyes still jumping around the room.

“...Wow,” was about all she got out. Scylla raised an eyebrow.

“That easy to impress, huh? I’ll keep that in mind.”

That seemed to snap Raelle out of her reverie and she squinted back at Scylla playfully.

“Says the girl who was practically cooing over my art about twenty minutes ago.”

Scylla turned bright red and cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Ahem, yes, well… moving on. Please.” She shook her head to clear it. “So what do you think?”

Raelle looked around the room again and back at Scylla. “It’s beautiful, really. I didn’t know funguses could be this pretty, or that you could keep them like plants.”

Scylla ground her teeth.

“There is a difference in keeping regular plants and having  _ fungi _ ,” she emphasized the pronunciation, “like these, but you can do it with the right set-up. Big seller? No. But I like them. They do their own thing, not bothered by what the rest of the world thinks of them. Role models, really,” she finished with a chuckle.

There was a long pause as Raelle looked at her, and Scylla almost could hear the gears in her head turning.

Finally, “...do you work here?”

Scylla barely contained her shit-eating grin.

“Only the owner works here right now.”

“...Owner.”

Scylla pulled her key ring out of her pocket, with the shop name on it, and jingled it lightly.

Raelle’s mouth tightened and she exhaled heavily through her nose.

“Cool. Yeah, obviously- owner. That’s you.” She paused and pursed her lips for a moment. “Ok so it would be super cool if my girls back at the shop didn’t hear about this.”

The shit-eating grin escaped.

“That can be arranged… for a price,” Scylla said, smirking.

Raelle tilted her head, looking thoughtful.

Scylla was about to say she was kidding when suddenly Raelle stepped in close.

Very close.

She put a hand on the wall near Scylla’s head and leaned in, crowding her against it. Scylla’s breath caught and her eyes widened as Raelle stepped closer, leaving the barest sliver of space between their bodies.

“How about,” Raelle said in a low voice, breath ghosting across Scylla’s cheek, “a trade.”

Scylla swallowed thickly. “I’m- I’m listening.”

Raelle’s free hand came up to brush over her cheek before taking her chin between her thumb and forefinger. Scylla’s heart pounded in her chest. Her lips parted as her eyes darted down to Raelle’s mouth.

“Well actually,” Raelle said, running her thumb just under Scylla’s lips, “what I have in mind doesn’t require me talking.”

Scylla’s knees went weak as Raelle’s tongue ran across her lips.

_ She’s killing me. I am dying. _

Scylla couldn’t hold back a small whimper when the hand on the wall slid into her hair and pulled her head back, lightly scratching her scalp. Raelle pressed herself fully against Scylla, pinning her to the wall, and smirked at the obvious effect she was having on her.

_ I can’t breathe. Please, please fucking kiss me already. _

Scylla, whose hands had so far been frozen at her sides, managed to get one handful of Raelle’s tank top, bunching the fabric at her waist. Immediately, the hand on her chin left, as Raelle grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the wall just above her head.

Whatever breath Scylla had in reserve left her in a rush.

Raelle smiled wider, tongue poking between her teeth.

_ Finally _ , Raelle leaned in toward her as Scylla let her eyes slip closed. She felt warm breath against her lips and-

_ BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP _

Both girls  _ jumped _ at the sudden loud, piercing noise that shattered the near-silence. They stared at each other in shock for a second before locating the source of the shrieking sound.

Scylla silenced the alarm on her watch before staring in disbelief at Raelle, now several inches away. Her mouth opened and shut a few times as she tried to form words.

_ Un-fucking-believable. _

“I- I guess my hour is up,” she stammered out.

Raelle stared at her, still breathing heavily from the tension or the scare. Maybe both.

“You- I- What?” she said, uncomprehending.

Scylla craned her neck to see the bigger clock on the wall.

“Ah, shit. Yeah, I-” she paused and looked at Raelle regretfully. “I have to open the shop. I’ve got appointments too,” she said apologetically.

Raelle shook her head, seemingly to clear the fog.

“Uh, right. Owner. Yeah.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “So… I can just take some pictures here and get out of your hair. So you can work.” She looked at the ground frustratedly.

_ You and me both, damn tease. _ But Scylla felt a smile creep across her face.

“If you want, you can stay back here for a while.” Raelle looked up curiously as she continued, “Yeah! I don’t mind. I’ll mostly be upfront with people or getting things out of the case over there,” she said, pointing. “You can stay here, get inspired- draw all you want!” she finished with a smile.

Raelle tentatively smiled back. “I dunno, I’ve already spent a lot of my day off working.”

Scylla rolled her eyes. “Guess that’ll be the trade then.”

Raelle shrugged before quickly reaching out to run her finger along Scylla’s jaw again, tipping it off her chin.

“For now.”

Scylla shivered and quickly looked away, blushing fiercely. She mock-glared at the chuckling Raelle before shouldering past her lightly and heading over to one of the tables.

“Come on, flirt. I’ll tell you what I want before I go.”

“For the tattoo?”

Scylla glanced back and rolled her eyes again, growing increasingly fond of the wide grin behind her.

“That too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just... LOVE being rude like this :D Fear not friends, things get even gayer in the next chapter, so don't leave me. Please.
> 
> Anyone who reads my lacrosse au chapter fic, [Ceding the Crease](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969520/chapters/60446806) (also MFS), knows I'm plugging art into my fics now. If you or anyone you know have art they'd like me to display, with full credit to you of course and a link to your social media, then let me know!
> 
> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	4. The First Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Session one of two: the outline. Plus, a little backstory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More than half way finished now! So, usually I post a disclaimer here for whatever subject I'm writing about but am not an expert in. But, while not an expert, I actually _do_ know a lot about tattooing. I gotta say, posting with confidence is a new feeling ^_^
> 
> No beta, we die like men. (She was babysitting, which I _guess_ is more important than me.)
> 
> My friend Chloe has returned from hanging out with the beetles so this chapter is for her. Missed you bro, glad you're back <3

Scylla read over the instructions Raelle had sent for what must’ve been the hundredth time. It wasn’t going to be her first time getting a tattoo, but every shop has their own slightly different rules and Scylla wanted to be ready. 

It was pretty standard: what clothes to wear, eat well, bring snacks for long sessions, drink lots of water, etc. Scylla had opted to wear some looser jeans and sandals that she knew she’d be comfortable sitting in for a long time. As for her shirt…

Well that would probably be coming off, she figured.

Over the past week and a half or so since Raelle had been in her shop, they had emailed back and forth about the tattoo Scylla would be getting. Raelle had sent her some sketches and slowly they built an image of what the final product would be, including a full-color digital mock-up. Scylla was more impressed each time she saw the newest version of the design: Raelle was incredibly talented. She listened to her ideas and what she wanted, and transcribed them beautifully on to paper.

But the location of the tattoo also changed a bit.

When they decided on a final design, Raelle suggested moving it so the shape would fit her body better, and the ink would be displayed more prominently. Therefore the bulk of the design now would sit on the left side of her chest, near her shoulder, and the tendrils would trail over her shoulder and collarbone.

Scylla swallowed nervously and checked the clock again, rubbing the back of her neck.

_Almost time._

She was grateful Raelle had managed to fit her in on her two days off, so she would have time to heal a little before getting back to work. Likewise, the second session, because Raelle had suggested doing it in two, would also be on a double-day off. She had built a little nest in her bedroom that she fully planned on relaxing in once she got home and all the next day. Hopefully her shoulder wouldn’t be too sore when she went back to work.

It wasn’t the coming pain and discomfort that made her nervous though.

Scylla wasn’t entirely sure where she stood with Raelle right now. Neither of them had brought up the near-kiss in the backroom, and there had been zero flirting from Raelle since. She tried to convince herself it was because they were using Raelle’s work email, which could potentially be seen by others in the shop, but she couldn’t help but doubt.

_It was probably just, I don't know, having fun or something. An ‘in the moment’ thing._

_Ok but her lips were literally a centimeter from yours. The only thing closer was the_ wall _which you were_ pinned _to._

_Well she hasn’t brought it up or said anything else flirty._

_Maybe you should’ve given her your NUMBER then, dumb ass._

_Don’t be rude, I did_ not _have full brain functionality when she left. Look, I’m technically her client right now. There’s probably rules about that, or something._

_Yes, she did strike me as a strict rule-follower._

_Shut up._

Scylla sighed and rubbed her temples- she could feel a headache brewing.

She checked the clock one last time and stood, collecting everything she needed before heading out of her apartment, down through the shop, and out on to the street.

The crisp Fall air helped clear her head some, and calm her nerves as she headed towards the tattoo parlor. She tucked a hand in her pocket as she ambled down the mostly-empty street- it didn’t usually get busy here until after lunch.

 _Just be chill,_ she thought as she approached the door. _Don’t make it weird- be professional._

Chimes sounded as she pulled the door open.

~.~

Raelle’s head snapped up fast enough to make her neck twinge when she heard the chimes go off. She checked the clock in her room.

_That’s gotta be her. Ok Collar, be chill, be professional, don’t make it weird._

Raelle looked over her room one last time, making sure all her supplies were where she wanted them and that everything was clean. Satisfied, she turned towards the door only to be blocked in by two leggy individuals, casually stretching themselves across her doorway.

She scowled. “Can I help you? I have a client.”

They both choked on laughs.

“Right.”

“Client.”

“Not a crush.”

“No different from any other client.”

“Not been distracted all week about it.”

“No, not at all.”

The rapid fire commentary from Abigail and Tally was enough to give her whiplash.

“Ok, thank you, you can stop now.” Raelle glared at them. “First of all, could you be any louder? Second, I am _not_ distracted. I am focused.”

They both raised an eyebrow at her.

“Rae.”

“Please.”

“Two days ago Byron called us _from the rig_ to ask why his partner was working on tattoo sketches on duty.”

“But tell us more how she’s just like any other client.”

Raelle just shoved her way through them.

She started to stomp down the hallway but was stopped by an arm wrapped around her from behind, which hauled her back against someone’s chest. The red hair dangling in her face told her who it was.

“You’re gonna make me late, heathens,” Raelle ground out. A laughing Abigail stepped in front of her while Tally’s chin came to rest on top of her head.

“She’s dealing with Glory right now, Shitbird, she can wait another minute,” Abigail stated, crossing her arms.

“We’re just teasing, Rae. We know you’ve never been inappropriate with a client before,” Tally added.

“We _also_ know when you’re nervous. So we’ll just have to agree-to-disagree on the whole, “just another client” thing.”

“Look,” Tally said, still using Raelle as a resting post, “We’ve both seen the design- it’s stunning. Not unlike it’s artist.” Raelle rolled her eyes, cracking a smile. “She’ll love it. As for the rest, well, from what I can see- because she’s totally in plain view right now- she seems nervous too. And she totally thought you were super attractive the last time she was here.”

“Plus we saw your face when you got back from your suspiciously long ‘consult,’” Abigail interjected, putting air quotes around the word.

“Shush,” Tally admonished. “Anyway, the point is, stop being nervous, because she’s gonna love this tattoo, and she’s _totally_ gonna say yes when you ask her out after.”

With that, Abigail winked at her and Tally hugged her and kissed the side of her face, before both girls disappeared into their rooms to get ready for their own clients coming in soon.

Raelle stood there for a moment, struggling to keep hold of her annoyance. She gave up quickly though, sighing and shaking her head, a fond smile spreading across her face. Warm affection settled in her chest.

She loved her sisters more than anything.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, heading out to the front room. She stopped in the entrance to the hall, unnoticed, and watched Scylla for a moment.

The girl was just as pretty as Raelle remembered. Her hair fell softly around her face, perfectly framing her cheekbones and those stunning dark blue eyes. One hand rubbed nervously over the spot where the tattoo would soon be going, and her lips were twisted to the side, the bottom one between her teeth.

She was admiring the mural on the wall.

Most of the wall space in the shop was taken up by various pictures of tattoos they had done, sketches, other pictures of the girls with friends, their diplomas and certifications, and some bookcases for portfolios. But one wall was reserved for this mural.

A huge painting on stretched canvas: the silhouette of a woman, her face turned upward, hair flowing back, her mouth pursed open slightly- as though she were calling out. Three small, white stars blazed against the black of her chest. She stood in a meadow of wildflowers, hands splayed at her sides, reaching out. All around her and in the sky above, a massive storm raged, whipping up dust and leaves, shaking the trees, blowing back her dress and hair. She stood tall and resolute, reveling in the power she commanded.

The plaque on the wall next to it simply read, “Storm and Fury”.

It gave Raelle no small amount of pride to see someone so openly admiring that painting, and Scylla was clearly captivated by it.

She watched Scylla for a few more moments until Glory came out from behind her desk and cleared her throat loudly.

Scylla whirled around. “Oh! Sorry, I- I didn’t see you.” She smiled. “Hey.”

Raelle smiled back at her, “Hey yourself.”

Glory giggled and said, “So, Raelle is ready for you now. You can go back.”

Raelle threw her a pointed look, “Hey thanks, Glory. I got this.”

Glory just smirked at her and said, “Sorry, I wasn’t sure how long you wanted to stand there and gaze at her.”

Somewhere in the rooms behind her, someone started choking and someone else exploded into laughter.

Raelle froze, jaw dropped, and stammered, “Uh, I- I wasn’t- N-no, I-” She gave up and clamped her mouth shut, trying to save face.

Scylla, to her relief, laughed and said, “‘Gazing’, huh? I’ll take it. Didn’t even have to get all dressed up,” she added, smirking.

Raelle nodded, her mouth tight. “Ah yes, gazing.” She slung an arm around Glory’s shoulders and pulled her in. More quietly she said, “Kind of like this one here does, oh, I dunno, EVERY time Tally is around.”

Glory turned bright red and shoved Raelle off, scurrying back behind her desk. Raelle smiled smugly at her before turning back to Scylla.

“Apologies, for the circus. Ahem. So! I’m all set up, we can head back and get started.” She smiled and swept her arm out in front of her, letting Scylla go first. “Down the hall, my room is the last one. Please ignore the monkeys as you pass.”

Scylla chuckled and headed off.

Before she followed, Raelle leaned toward Glory and said quietly, “Y’know, Tal’s all by her lonesome, setting up her room. Could go help. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.” She dodged the folder chucked at her head. “Just sayin’! Never know what could happen!”

She laughed and ducked for cover down the hallway as Glory hissed at her to get out.

~.~

Raelle entered her room behind Scylla, closing the door after them.

When Scylla looked at her curiously, she said, “Uh, the rooms are pretty well insulated, so sound carries less with the door closed.” She shrugged. “Also you probably want privacy, because, um,” she trailed off and gestured vaguely towards Scylla’s shirt.

“Oh! Right. Yes, thank you,” she replied, blushing slightly.

After a short awkward silence, Raelle said, “Soooo you can just do that now if you want. You can put your stuff on that chair and I’ll just, um, get the stencil ready.”

Scylla nodded and started putting a few things in the offered chair. When her hands went to the top button of her button-down, Raelle spun around towards her station and grabbed some black gloves out of the box, putting them on before getting the stencil.

 _Ok, real talk, Collar. Do_ not _be weird about this. Don’t stare, keep your eyes up. Seriously, she’s a client but like, also a person. Don’t be rude or creepy._

“So, how do you want me?”

_...Ok she totally did that on purpose._

Raelle slowly spun around on her stool to fix Scylla with a did-you-really-just-say-that look. Scylla just smiled innocently in return. Raelle just shook her head and then stopped, getting a full look at the girl in front of her.

She was… stunning. All smooth skin, soft curves- and so many freckles.

Raelle cleared her throat, “Strap-” she swallowed and cleared her throat again, “Strapless bra- good call. You’ll, uh, probably just want to stick with those until it’s done healing. Also, will prevent the tattoo from warping under a strap.”

She approached Scylla with the stencil.

“Alright, so, I had an idea yesterday morning, a slight tweak I thought you might like. So that’s this stencil. If you don’t like it, I also have the original. But just tell me what you think, you’re the one who has to wear it.”

Scylla nodded and Raelle focused on placing the stencil in the right spot. When she got the angle right, she pressed it into Scylla’s chest, trying to ignore the warmth seeping through her gloves.

_Ok seriously, I’ve touched plenty of clients, in plenty of different places, and that is only Ok to say inside my head, and it’s never been like this before. This girl is… I don’t know._

_Ah, fuck. This is a crush. I’ll never hear the end of it._

She finished placing the stencil and stepped back, nodding once she decided it looked right.

“Ok, mirror’s behind you, tell me what you think. It’s different without the color, obviously, but still should look good.”

Scylla turned toward the mirror, stepping closer to see the thin stencil lines better. She paused for a second, tilting her head, trying to figure out what she was looking at.

Then she gasped, “Oh, shit! Is this-? Are they-?” A wide grin spread across her face as she looked at Raelle through the mirror. “I love it! You’re a genius!”

“I thought it might be the kind of weird you’d like,” Raelle chuckled.

Scylla looked at Raelle over her shoulder. “Oh you think I’m weird, huh?” she asked jokingly.

Raelle took the plunge. “Yeah, like, sexy weird.”

Scylla smirked at her, blushing again, before turning back to look at the design again in the mirror.

The main focus was a fungus, large with many tubes and shoots coming off it. Tendrils hung from it, laying delicately across Scylla’s shoulder and collarbone. It was surrounded by smaller, more conventional-looking mushrooms, and a beetle was poking out from under one of the caps. It would look even better once the coloring was done. But Scylla’s new favorite part was what Raelle had recently added.

A few realistic elements, a few extra lines, and it now looked like all of it was _growing_ out of Scylla’s skin. 

Raelle mentally patted herself on the back, pleased her bolt of inspiration had gone over so well.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said. “If you’re also good with that placement, then we can get started.” She patted the client chair, pulling her stool over along with the tray of her inks and needle.

Scylla looked it over one last time and nodded, apparently satisfied, before sliding herself into the leather high-back chair.

Raelle reached for the adjustment lever and reclined the chair, which was also technically a table, until she had a good angle to work from. Her hands were steady, unlike how the rest of her felt, as she put everything she needed within reach.

Finally, she picked up the needle and drew some black ink into it.

“Ok, let’s go. We’ll be here for a while, so whenever you need a break just let me know. Don’t forget to breathe normal, and don’t clench up.” She smiled reassuringly as Scylla nodded.

As soon as she started drawing the needle over Scylla’s skin, the rest of Raelle’s nerves fell away. The buzz of the needle was comforting and familiar, and she felt more at ease. In her element.

The first several minutes passed in comfortable silence as Scylla adjusted to the discomfort. Raelle had started with the thicker lines that were not directly on bone, so she knew from experience that the pain wasn't too bad.

After a short while, Scylla asked, “Do you prefer quiet when you work? I brought stuff to do on my phone.”

Without looking up, Raelle responded, “No, we can talk. I’m a multitasker.” During a brief pause when she lifted the needle, she winked at Scylla.

“Alright, well, I’m sure you’ve had this question a lot but I’m curious how you got into tattooing.”

“People usually are. Well, me ‘n Tally ‘n Abigail met in college. Art college. Randomly-assigned roommates.” She stopped the needle for a moment so she could sigh and look down dramatically. “It was a nightmare. They were the worst. Still are, but I guess I like them now.”

Scylla laughed, “So, this was an “opposites attract” thing?”

“More like, “different goals” kind of thing. As in, I had none, Tally wanted to be a traveling artist, and Abigail wanted to be a world-famous painter.” Raelle paused again and scowled. “Well, her mother did anyway.”

Scylla didn’t pry into that, instead asking, “So how long did it take before you stopped wanting to kill each other?”

Raelle chuckled, “Well, Tally was pretty easy. She takes a little getting used to but she’s impossible to hate. She’s too damn sweet and nice and caring.”

“Sounds awful.”

“I know, right? The nerve. But Abigail though…” Raelle trailed off.

“Not as easy?” Scylla suggested.

“No,” Raelle said flatly. “She’s High Atlantic. As in, her family’s upper class. Like, really upper class. So Abigail was uptight and hella controlling. Up her own ass about everything. The college was doing a new thing that year where one of your final projects, because the portfolios weren’t enough on their own, had to be a collaboration with your roommates. Your ‘Unit’, as they called it.”

“Because why not?”

“Exactly. So of course none of the three of us has the same style, and forget about agreeing on an idea. Fucking mess the whole first year.”

Raelle paused to flex her hand a few times before resettling.

“Not to stop the story,” Scylla said, “but what _are_ their styles? I know you’re good at color.”

“Excuse me,” Raelle said, pausing again to look at Scylla, “I am the _best_ at color.”

“Of course, I apologize.”

“Good. Abigail is the best at linework. It’s clean, crisp, always looks like it was made with a straight edge. Never seen blowout with her work. And her designs are bold and solid, especially with black and whites. 

Tally’s specialty is realism. She actually helped me with this design a little,” she added sheepishly. “I just wanted her opinion, is all. So realism, and 3D tattoos which are really popular now. It’s amazing. Also, she has kind of a unique technique…”

“Do tell,” Scylla encouraged.

“Well you know how we had a whole consult and then went back and forth figuring out the design?” Scylla nodded. “Well Tal doesn’t do that. You just tell her the basic thing you want and then she freehands it. And somehow, it always comes out perfect. It’s exactly what you wanted even though you couldn’t describe it. I dunno how she does it; she just always _knows._ ”

“Impressive,” Scylla said. “Seems risky, though.”

Raelle nodded. “It’s not for everyone, sure. Plenty of people want more control over the tattoo they’re getting. And that’s fair, obviously- shit’s permanent. But plenty of people have heard of her and what she can do, and they want to see for themselves. They find it kind of freeing to trust someone else to know what they need and give it to them.”

“Hm. Yeah I guess I can understand that.” Scylla chuckled. “So, how did these very different styles come together? I’m guessing by the diplomas on the wall that you guys eventually pulled it out.”

Raelle laughed, “Yeah, eventually. Tally was the bridge, in the end. Brought the three of us together long enough to give each other an actual chance. After that, not that it was smooth sailing from then on, but it was easier. We listened more. Me ‘n Abigail got our shit together enough that when Tal needed us, we could be there for her. The college dropped the ‘Unit’ thing after that first year, but it stuck with us.” She scoffed and added, “At least the apartment we share now is bigger. And we each get a room with a _door._ ”

Scylla nodded empathetically before asking, “And the project?”

Raelle smiled and sat up, stretching out her back. She looked at Scylla for a moment, a knowing look on her face.

“Yeah, what did you think of it?”

At Scylla’s confused look Raelle nodded her head towards the front of the shop. She watched as Scylla put two and two together and then-

“The mural?!” she gasped. Raelle just smiled and nodded in response. Scylla stared at her, slack-jawed, the amazement clear on her face.

“You- you guys made that? And as freshmen??” She stopped again. “That’s- I mean- Holy crap!”

Raelle let out a loud, full laugh at Scylla’s stumbling praise.

“Well thank you, I’ll be sure to let them know it’s so well-received.”

Scylla flushed, “Sorry, I’ll take it down a notch. It’s beautiful though, you guys created something amazing.”

“Thanks,” Raelle said. “So too thought the dealer that wanted to buy it. All the final pieces were put on display in an art show at the end of the year. A few were purchased, but we didn’t want to sell ours.”

Scylla smiled softly. “Because you made it together,” she reasoned.

Raelle started up her needle again, saying, “Yeah, pretty much.”

Scylla let her work in silence for a few minutes, which Raelle was grateful for.

“Still seems a long way off from co-owning a tattoo studio,” Scylla said eventually.

Raelle shrugged, wiping some excess ink away.

“Yeah, well, like I said, turns out we work pretty well together. And when you have the right people supporting you, the things you want can change. Abigail still has her other art, and Tally gets to travel- she gets invited to a lot of conventions around the world. But we found kind of a mutual love for this.”

“What about what you want? How did that change?”

There was a long pause that followed, broken only by the whirring of the needle as it traveled over the lines on Scylla’s chest.

Finally Raelle responded, “I didn’t really care about anything, or want to do anything, or go anywhere, before I met them. Now I do.” She didn’t say any more after that, finding these kinds of words harder to fish out of her chest.

After another lengthy silence, Scylla said softly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry so much. It’s clear how much you care about them though, and I think that’s something you created that’s just as beautiful as that mural on the wall.”

Raelle stopped and looked up at Scylla with awe.

“I- thank you. Yeah. I love them, even when they annoy the hell out of me. They’re my sisters.”

Scylla smiled softly at her and Raelle became suddenly aware of how close their faces were. She couldn’t stop herself from glancing down at Scylla’s lips, and she saw the other girl do the same to her. She was even more aware of the heat from Scylla’s skin as it seeped through the glove on her hand, still braced against the girl’s chest.

Raelle licked her lips and swallowed heavily, before forcing herself to lean back and resettle on her stool. Scylla exhaled heavily, letting go the breath she had been holding.

Raelle stretched out her neck and back and shook out both her hands, while Scylla also took the quick opportunity to stretch.

“So,” Raelle said, in a falsely bright tone. She switched out her needle to start on some of the thinner lines. She leaned back over Scylla and started up her needle again. “Tell me more about your special plants and funguses. How did that start?”

She glanced up in time to see Scylla’s glare, and happily settled in for the long correction.

~.~

Hours later, Raelle was eyeing the fresh lines one last time, making sure everything was clear and crisp. She made a few final passes and sat back again, before finally nodding and laying down her needle.

“Ok! We’re done here. I’m done torturing you for the day,” she joked, picking up her bottle of soap-oil to clean the area and remove the access ink. She passed a soft towel soaked in the mixture over the new tattoo outline, and Scylla sighed in relief as it soothed the red, irritated area. Raelle laughed as Scylla motioned for her to do it again, and obliged her.

“You know,” Scylla began, “I think it looks good as is, it doesn’t need to be colored in. Good job.”

Raelle rolled her eyes as she picked up some plastic wrap, starting to lay it over the inked skin.

“Yeah, everyone says that. Suck it up, Scyl, you’re coming back so I can finish.”

Scylla sighed in defeat.

Raelle removed her gloves and took Scylla’s hand to help her stand up and face toward the mirror. Scylla leaned in, tilting her head back and forth as she admired the tattoo.

“It does look good though. I _guess_ it’ll probably look better in color.” She turned back to Raelle.

“I mean, color is why you wanted me after all, right?”

“Well,” Scylla drawled, “maybe at first.” And she gave Raelle a once-over before locking eyes with her again and quirking her lips up into a half-smile.

Raelle realized she still had hold of Scylla’s hand and tugged the girl slightly closer. Scylla’s smile grew as she brought her free hand up to brace herself against Raelle’s shoulder. Raelle’s own smile grew in turn as she brought her other hand up to rest on Scylla’s waist, thumb stroking over the incredibly soft skin there.

“That so?” Raelle asked, sliding her hand around to the small of Scylla’s back as her heart began to pound in her chest. “What-”

And then the door cracked open.

“Rae? Lunch is here, you done?”

Raelle’s head thumped down on to Scylla’s non-tattooed shoulder.

“I fucking guess!” she yelled at Tally.

The door closed again.

With a deep sigh, Raelle picked her head up and looked Scylla in the face again. The other girl looked equal parts amused and frustrated, letting out a disbelieving chuckle. Raelle reluctantly stepped back and started cleaning up her materials while Scylla put her shirt back on, carefully.

As Raelle opened the door, she felt a hand on her arm, stopping her. She turned and met Scylla’s very blue eyes as the girl pressed a small slip of paper into her hand.

“I’ll see you in a couple weeks, yeah?” she asked hopefully. Raelle nodded.

Scylla leaned in and very softly pressed her lips to Raelle’s cheek. She lingered there for a short moment, as Raelle’s breath caught in her chest. Slowly Scylla pulled back, giving Raelle a last soft look before leaving the room.

Raelle’s breath came back in a rush and she pulled in a long, shaky breath. She touched her fingertips to her cheek, grinning widely at the phone number in her hand.

Unfortunately, and to her great dismay, there was a familiar roadblock in the hallway once Raelle exited her room. She focused on the two girls in front of her, leaning on opposite walls. Raelle snatched her hand down from her cheek and tried- not quite succeeding- to wipe the smile off her face.

Tally pretended to casually watch the ceiling, whistling innocently, while Abigail fixed her with a smug, shit-eating grin. She held out a water bottle, raising an eyebrow. Raelle stepped over their stupidly long legs, grabbing the water as she went out to the front room.

_Til the day I die, I shall never know peace. Stupid monkeys._

Out front, Scylla was settling up with Glory while a delivery boy was setting out a small pile of food on the table near the couches.

“Ok we’re all set here! Here’s the care instructions- keep it clean, moisturize, et cetera. We’ll see you in a couple weeks!” Glory finished up her spiel, handing Scylla a small pamphlet. She took it and turned to leave, glancing at Raelle and blushing again. She waved and started toward the door.

The delivery boy finished up as well.

“Alright, I’m out. See you next week ladies! Oh, Raelle, Tom said he made you an extra sandwich for your shift tomorrow. It’s in the bag.” He waved and departed, thanking Scylla who opened the door for him.

Scylla looked curiously at Raelle, the question plain on her face. Raelle just shrugged as the other three girls in the shop started to converge on the food. Scylla just cocked her head, wondering, before finally departing.

Once Scylla left, Raelle sank into one of the couches, leaning on the armrest and trying valiantly to keep the dumb smile off her face.

She failed.

And when Abigail snatched the slip of paper out of her hand to look at it, and Tally slid over to squish her against said armrest, preventing escape, she didn’t try to fight it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, these poor wlws. They can't catch a break! :P I _promise_ there will be actual kissing next time, so please don't give up on me yet. :)
> 
> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	5. The First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raelle drops by the flower shop for totally professional reasons.
> 
> It does not stay professional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to my buddy Hot Wheels who was nagging me more than I was to get this posted. If you weren't my friend, I would block you :P Also, shout-out to the anon who picked up the trick with this fic: the POV (or PERSPECTIVE you might say ;) ) changes when each girl enters the other's shop. Like a home-field 'vantage', if you will.
> 
> ...I like puns.
> 
> No beta this week we die like men. YOLO.
> 
> No disclaimer, I am gay so I know how this works.

Nearly two weeks later, Raelle was going out of her mind with anticipation. The more she’d gotten to know Scylla, via newly-exchanged numbers, the more she was dying to see her again. She’d come to learn that Scylla was incredibly smart, sharp and quick-witted. Even better, she was comfortable to talk to.

Raelle had never opened up so easily to someone before- Abigail and Tally could testify to that. She liked to keep her cards close to her chest, and didn’t care what others thought. But with this girl…

It had only been a little less than a month since she’d met Scylla, but her crush was fast growing into something deeper.

She was eager to see where this  _ thing _ between them would go, and she cursed all the bad timing that seemed to follow them.

They had texted almost non-stop since Scylla’s first appointment, and Raelle was dying to actually  _ see _ her again. Unfortunately, with her own packed appointment schedule and shifts with EMS, free moments were hard to come by. On more than one occasion, when she did have some free time, she wandered down to the flower shop, only to find Scylla surrounded by customers. Raelle didn’t think she should just barge in while Scylla was busy, so each time she quickly retreated to her own shop.

Now, it was the day before Scylla’s second appointment, and Raelle had just gotten off the early, early shift with Byron. They’d had lunch before Byron had dropped her off at Circe Tattoo. She was now prone on the corner couch, still in her uniform, and debating a nap while she waited for Abigail to be able to drive her home. She  _ could _ walk- it was only a few blocks- but, eh.

_ Fuck, I shouldn’t. I’ll just be groggy. Plus my sleep will get thrown off tonight and I want to be super alert tomorrow. _

_ How professional of you. I’m sure you have all your clients in mind and not just the last one. _

_ Well since you brought her up, I could go visit her. You know, to keep me awake. _

_ Sure. And say what? ‘Just checking in, making sure it's healed well so far so we can go ahead tomorrow.’ _

_ Well shit, that’s a good excuse. _

_ Wait, no- _

Raelle heaved herself up off the couch and stored her dark, over-the-shoulder EMT bag behind the desk. As she transferred her phone and wallet to her pockets, Tally, Abigail, and Glory strolled in, having finished their own lunch.

Tally leaned against the desk, saying, “Hm, I wonder where you’re headed off to…” with a wink at Glory who was pulling out her book keeping.

“Who’s to say,” remarked Abigail, planting herself on the coffee table, elbows on her knees. “So, what’s the excuse going to be for showing up?”

Raelle glared. “I’m going to see if her tattoo is healing up well. Just- in case…” She trailed off, knowing how weak the excuse sounded.

Abigail sighed, shaking her head while Tally facepalmed.

“Really, Shitbird? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“...Yes.”

“You know, you  _ could _ just tell her you wanted to see her. Preferably followed by asking her out.”

“I’ll  _ get _ to that, Tal, if we can go five minutes without being interrupted!”

Tally smiled, “You know, it’s cute to see you all happy about a girl. It’s been a while since you’ve been really interested in someone.”

Raelle growled, “I am not cute.”

Abigail made a sound of disagreement, seemingly nonplussed when Raelle flipped her the bird. Glory giggled behind her hands.

Tally kept needling her. “Come on, Rae, you have a  _ crush _ and it’s adorable. You blush whenever you mention her, you’re talking to her nonstop, and you’re obviously dying to see her again. You’re even going over in your uniform, which you  _ hate  _ wearing off-duty.”

Raelle locked eyes with Tally and cocked her head. “It does sound like some strong emotions, doesn’t it,” she said, with unexpected calm. Tally suddenly looked nervous. Slowly, Raelle moved just her eyes to look deliberately at Glory (who now looked like a deer in headlights), and then slowly looked back at Tally, who had turned pale. “I guess you would know all about that, right Tal?”

There was a shocked gasp next to her from Abigail, and Tally froze. She swallowed heavily, not looking at Glory. Abigail let out another strangled laugh-slash-gasp from behind the hand slapped over her mouth.

Raelle waited a moment, then smiled her biggest, widest,  _ smuggest _ Shitbird grin, gave a two-fingered salute, and left the shop.

As she ambled down the street, approaching those bright, colorfully painted windows, she thought,  _ Really hope Scylla’s not busy. Like to see her again before I flee the country. _

~.~

“Hello! Be with you in just a minute!” Scylla called as the doorbell went off. She put down the order she was working on and made her way to the front, dusting her hands off.

_ Dammit, just got the last person out of here. So much for having a few minutes to breathe. _

She grumbled under her breath before plastering a smile back on her face and pushing through the door to the front room. The plastered smile quickly became genuine as she saw who was now waiting in her shop.

Raelle was leaning on her front counter, picking up a mini cactus and squinting at it. She turned it over in her hands, reading the label, before putting it down. Then she caught sight of Scylla and smiled widely, waving.

“Hey, Scyl! Fancy seeing you here,” she joked.

Scylla chuckled and said, “Yeah, of all the flower shops in all the world, right?” She couldn’t help but smile brightly at Raelle though, as she approached.

She was happy to see her.

In the past two weeks, she had spent a lot of time thinking about Raelle: her eyes, her smile, her laugh, her sharp wit. She loved talking to her, and unexpectedly found it not so hard to open up. Scylla was never super forthcoming, but Raelle seemed patient and never pried, for which Scylla was incredibly grateful.

“So what brings you here?” Scylla asked, coming to lean on the counter next to her. Raelle turned so her position mirrored Scylla’s, which brought her just close enough that Scylla’s skin began to prickle.

“I’m done for the day, just thought I’d stop by,” Raelle replied. She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped. She seemed to reconsider. Then, “I actually had a pretty lame excuse ready for coming over, but…” She hesitated, biting her lip. “Maybe I’ll just tell you I wanted to see you,” she said finally.

Scylla melted.

She felt herself blush and a smile broke out across her face. Now Raelle was beaming, seeing the positive response, and Scylla ducked her head in embarrassment. When she looked up again, Raelle looked only a  _ little _ smug, but mostly… happy.

_ She’s… so beautiful. Wow. _

Some of the awe must have been visible on her face because it was Raelle’s turn to blush.

Scylla tentatively reached out and took one of Raelle’s hands, holding it lightly in her own, giving her ample space to pull away if she wanted. But Raelle only looked surprised and smiled wider, turning her hand over to lace their fingers together.

Scylla decided very quickly that she liked Raelle’s hands. They were artists' hands: light, steady, and smooth, with long, slim fingers. They felt nice wrapped around her own fingers, but she couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel elsewhere…

Raelle stepped closer.

Scylla held up her free hand, stopping her. She said, “Wait, first I want to know what this lame excuse was. Just in case you get too cocky and I need to knock you down a peg later.”

Raelle sighed and grumbled, “Something along the lines of checking on your tattoo, making sure it was healing well. Or something.”

Scylla snorted. “That was the best you could come up with? Weak.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the disgruntled look on Raelle’s face. “A doctor who makes house calls though? Who doesn’t appreciate that,” she said with a wink.

“I’m not a doctor, just an EMT,” Raelle said.

“Yes, I can see that,” Scylla drawled, giving Raelle an exaggerated once-over. The uniform fit her well and Scylla found herself very appreciative of it.

_ She wears it well. Very well. _

“Well  _ anyway _ , it was the only even remotely valid reason I could have for dropping by randomly,” Raelle stated. Then she scrambled, adding, “I- I mean, aside from wanting to see you. Like I said.”

Scylla giggled, “You seem flustered. Maybe I should have someone else finish my tattoo tomorrow?” She enjoyed needling Raelle, the flustered look was cute on her.

Raelle scoffed, “Please, we already established I’m the best with colors.”

Scylla pretended to consider, swinging their linked hands between them. “Well I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen Tally or Abigail’s work. Tattoo work, I mean.”

She barely made out Raelle muttering under her breath, “Teasing me didn’t work out so well for Tally about ten minutes ago.” Before she could ask though, Raelle suddenly got a very mischievous look on her face.

She looked up. “Do you want to? See their work, I mean. On skin, not canvas,” she added when Scylla looked confused.

Scylla was still confused though, but hesitantly responded, “...Yes?”

Raelle smirked. “Come with me then,” she said, heading toward the back of the store and letting Scylla’s fingers slip away (much to Scylla’s disappointment).

“Um, where are we going?”

“Back room.”

Right, sure… Why?”

Raelle paused by the door and looked back, half-turning and smirking again.

“Because I’m not taking my shirt off out here in full view of the street.”

~.~

It had taken several moments for Scylla’s brain to reboot after Raelle’s statement. Long enough for the girl to wink and disappear into the back, hands already at the top button of her uniform shirt. Long enough that by the time Scylla had pulled her remaining brain cells together and run after her, Raelle was at the order assembly table, leaning back on it, with her shirt hanging open.

Scylla stopped near the door, almost getting hit by it as it swung shut. She swallowed thickly at the sliver of skin she could see peeking out of Raelle’s now-open shirt. Slowly she approached her, trying to appear steady and keep her hands from shaking.

Quite the feat when your heart is about to beat out of your chest.

She stopped about arms-length from Raelle. She tried valiantly to keep her eyes on the girl’s face, but they kept being drawn down to the hint of toned stomach, and splashes of color across her chest.

_ Yeah, that’s the part of her chest you’re focused on. _

_ Can you shut up please? I’m trying to focus here. _

_ Try harder. _

Scylla swallowed again, dragging her eyes up to meet Raelle’s, who clearly was feeling proud of herself. Raelle cocked an eyebrow at her before pushing off the table, bringing her a hair closer.

_ I have made a mistake. _

Raelle slowly pulled the sides of her shirt open, letting it slide off her shoulders and on to the floor. Scylla’s mouth went dry as she took in all the newly-revealed skin: smooth and pale, with slight definition on her abdomen, like a runner. With difficulty, she brought her eyes up to the top of Raelle’s chest, where a bright, colorful scene had been inked across her skin.

Scylla had seen this one already, beneath the tank tops Raelle liked to wear. But now she was able to study it more closely.

It was a sunburst of color from shoulder to shoulder- beautiful reds and oranges and golds, even a touch of blue here and there. Directly over her heart was a bouquet of bright, happy flowers, each in bloom with a few buds poking out from underneath. They trailed little leaves and vines across her chest. It was so vivid and captured such movement that Scylla half-believed she could see them floating across Raelle’s skin. The shadows beneath the flowers and leaves made it look like they were floating right off her chest. The vines dipped and crawled up over her shoulders to her back, like a shawl.

She nearly reached out to touch the stunning piece in front of her, but caught herself before she did, her hand hovering about halfway in the air between them.

“She’s good, isn’t she?” Raelle said quietly, but still proud. “Tally.”

Scylla couldn’t quite find her voice and nodded.

Raelle turned around saying, “And this is Abby.”

The piece on Raelle’s back was in stark contrast to the one on her chest. It was big and dark and bold, none of the lightness or floating fancy that Tally brought. At the dead center was a mass of thick and thin lines in deep maroon, with touches of purple and dark reds, that wove and overlapped and expanded outward in crazy and incomprehensible geometric patterns, until it formed a whole picture: an upside-down triangle, like a shield. When Scylla tried to pick one line in it to follow, she found she got lost, or it stopped abruptly. But as a whole, they worked.

From this shield sprouted many wisps and bolts, that jutted out and crawled along her back to curl around her hips and ribs. A few long, jagged lines reach up to her shoulders to meet the light, lithe vines coming over from Tally’s piece.

Scylla stared for a long, silent moment. The tattoo enhanced the musculature of Raelle’s back, dipping and curving with her natural body shape, highlighting her hips, her spine, her shoulders…

Finally the temptation was too much.

Scylla reached out a hand and carefully traced a finger down one of the bold lines on Raelle’s back. Raelle stiffened for an instant before relaxing again. When she didn’t pull away, Scylla felt braver and laid all five finger tips against her skin, tracing the intricate lines. When Raelle hummed in contentment, Scylla laid her hand flat. She wasn’t tracing the tattoo anymore, but just feeling the warm, smooth skin there.

Raelle shivered as Scylla stepped closer, laying her other hand also on the girl’s back. She ran them both along her skin, starting at her shoulders and sliding them down, feeling Raelle tremble beneath her fingers. She heard Raelle let out a shaky breath as Scylla laid her forehead to rest between her shoulder blades, sliding her hands down and around to Raelle’s hips and trying to get her own breathing under control.

Her heart was pounding hard and fast in her chest, making her tingle from head to toe.

She lifted her head slightly, just enough to run her nose across the back of Raelle’s neck. Just enough for the  _ barest _ brush of her lips…

Scylla gasped as Raelle spun around, gripping the table behind her to hold herself up as Raelle now crowded her against it. Raelle’s right arm went around her waist, pulling them flush together; her left hand went into Scylla’s hair, holding the back of her head.

For one breathless moment, their eyes held, and then-

They  _ crashed _ together. 

Scylla sighed in relief as their lips met. Raelle’s mouth was warm and sweet, and unbelievably soft. Her kiss was hard though, consuming Scylla’s entire being. They came together easily; their lips fit together like they were made for each other. 

Scylla arched into Raelle, molding herself against her as one hand came up to grip her bare side. They parted and gasped for air before coming right back together. Scylla whimpered at the first touch of Raelle’s tongue against her lips and parted them eagerly, letting her in.

Raelle  _ consumed _ her, and Scylla was perfectly happy to let her take control. She moaned as Raelle swept through her mouth, and again as the hand at her lower back slid even lower, squeezing and pulling her closer.

All at once, Raelle pulled back, just far enough to take Scylla’s hands and place them on her shoulders. Then she bent, and in one smooth motion, lifted Scylla to sit on the table.

All the breath left her in a rush, and it was all she could do to cling to Raelle’s shoulders as the other girl stood between her legs and kissed her again, hands on her waist and back. One hand slid back into Scylla’s hair, making a fist, and Scylla moaned again as Raelle tugged, pulling her head back enough for her to duck down and attack her neck.

Scylla gasped for air as Raelle’s mouth slid down her neck, running her tongue along her skin and leaving little nips and bites. She ran her hand along Raelle’s braids and back down to her shoulders, keeping her close.

_ Ah, so good. Fuck, don’t stop. _

“D-don’t stop. Rae-Raelle,” she gasped in pleasure as Raelle found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck, sucking hard.

Raelle paused, panting hot puffs of air onto Scylla’s shoulder. Her hands slid under the hem of her shirt, ghosting over her bare skin. She waited, face tucked into the crook of Scylla’s neck, leaving kisses as she let out a questioning hum.

“Yes- yes,” Scylla breathed.

Raelle trailed her nails lightly up Scylla’s sides, making her shiver, and dragging her shirt up. She brought it up and over her head, dropping it on the table before molding her hands to Scylla’s skin.

Everywhere Raelle touched, she set Scylla on fire. Her hands were warm and steady on her stomach, drawing upwards. One came up to take Scylla’s chin between thumb and forefinger, forcing her to met Raelle’s eyes. They were wild, and much darker than usual, and Scylla was left breathless.

Raelle bent to kiss her once more. This one was slower, and deeper, but no less passionate.

“Scylla…” she whispered against her lips. Raelle kissed her again and Scylla felt limp and lightheaded. “So beautiful,” she continued, brushing her hand along Scylla’s jaw. The hand at her back was the only thing keeping her upright.

_ More, I need more, please. _

Raelle’s hands were drifting towards the clasp of Scylla’s bra, and Scylla’s were reaching for the button of Raelle’s pants, when-

_ Ding! Da-ding! _

They froze, still panting against each other’s skin, at the intrusive sound.

_ The fuck was that?! _

And then, “Hello?” 

_ You gotta be kidding me. God-fucking-dammit. _

Raelle leaned back and looked at her in disbelief.

“I’ll be out in just a minute, sorry!” Scylla called, her voice cracking.

They stared at each other as their breathing slowly came down. Scylla’s mouth hung open, trying to find words.

Raelle found them first.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t- I didn’t mean to get so carried away…” she trailed off, frustratedly rubbing the back of her neck and taking a step back.

“No!” Scylla exclaimed. She slid off the table, bringing herself flush against Raelle again. She grabbed Raelle’s head and pulled her in for a deep kiss. “Don’t be sorry, I liked it. I wanted it! Wanted you,” she added, biting her lip. “Still do, but…”

Raelle chuckled, resting her hands on Scylla’s hips. “Ok, well, maybe when you’re not busy. Besides, a table’s not really great for what I have in mind.” And she bent her head to whisper a few things in Scylla’s ear, until Scylla felt weak in the knees all over again.

Pushing Raelle back, she began trying to compose herself: she drew her shirt back on and finger-combed her hair, straightening herself out until she no longer looked like she had been about five minutes away from being ravaged on her back room table.

Once they were both sorted, she planted one last, short kiss on Raelle’s lips and said, “Yes, so, do all those things. Please. Soon, hopefully.” It just caused Raelle to look even more smug.

“Yes ma’am,” she said with a wink.

~.~

Out front, there as a man waiting. He was poking through some of the pre-made bouquets along one wall, and he gave a small wave as the two girls emerged from the back room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Scylla said. “My… friend was dropping some things off.”

“Oh, no worries! I’m not in a hurry,” the customer said with a reassuring smile.

“Well let me just walk her out, and I’ll be right back.”

He nodded and went back to perusing while Raelle followed Scylla to the door.

Just outside, Raelle turned to her and said, “So… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Scylla smiled coyly, “Yeah. For the tattoo, right?”

Raelle rolled her eyes fondly. “Yeah, that too.”

Scylla laughed and was about to say goodbye when something odd caught her eye from down the street. Raelle, seeing her strange look, turned to see what was going on. A second later, a look of disbelief came over Raelle’s face.

“She didn’t…” she whispered incredulously, jumping down the two steps and squinting down the street to see better.

And then-

“FUCK!”

Raelle took off running while Scylla was still trying to process what she was seeing.

Farther down the street was Circe Tattoo. Near the top of the building was its sign- a dark blue square with big gold and white lettering.

Hanging from the sign was what looked like a dark, over-the-shoulder type bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL I hope that was worth the wait, and all the rude interruptions. ;) Bonus points if you know where those tattoo designs came from, you're amazing.
> 
> If you or anyone you know has some cool art you want displayed, let me know! Full credit to the artist.
> 
> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	6. The Second Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to color in that tattoo, and see whatever else may happen...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyy I'm back! I'm sorry for the week delay, but I needed some time off. Hopefully this makes up for it! (Especially the end ;) ).
> 
> Celebrate the long-awaited return of [tallycravens](https://tallycravens.tumblr.com/), my wonderful beta. Leave my commas alone dude, they work hard <3
> 
> No disclaimer, I am pre-knowledgeable about tattoos and EMS :P

Scylla sighed and rested her head against the door as the last customer left. She flicked the lock over, relieved her day was done at last.

It had seemed to drag on forever.

She’d been staring at the clock all day, willing it to tick faster. After the second customer had asked her why she kept checking it, she took it off the wall and stashed it in the back. It didn’t help that it was a slow day; more people in the shop would’ve helped the day go by faster.

Last night hadn’t been much better. She’d lain awake for hours, replaying the day’s events over and over, imagining what might’ve happened if they hadn’t been interrupted…

Which then of course turned into imagining all the things Raelle had whispered in her ear.

_She wasn’t wrong at the consult- she definitely knows what she’s doing._

Now though, finally, she could close up shop and head up into her apartment, with just enough time to shower and change before heading over to Circe Tattoo.

~.~

Feeling refreshed, Scylla stepped out into the cool evening air, special package in hand. The street was fairly busy at six in the evening. Even after the dinner rush ended, people would remain for the Friday night festivities. The road would be closed to cars and flooded with street vendors, artists, musicians, and more. 

Scylla had discovered this semi-weekly tradition once she moved here, and looked forward to being able to set up a booth for herself at some point. It likely wouldn't happen until spring though, as soon it would be turning cold out and the little street fair would be put on hold.

There was a girl standing in front of Circe Tattoo handing out flyers. She was short, with dark, curly hair. As Scylla approached, the girl handed her one that read “Swythe Ink” across the top.

“I see they’re already doing work on you here,” she said, pointing at the half-finished tattoo showing from beneath Scylla’s tank top. “When they’re done marring your skin, come see me for some real art.”

Scylla stared at the offered flyer, not sure how to respond.

“Libba!” The shout startled her before she could say anything. The girl in front of her just rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the person who had just arrived.

“What? I have a permit.”

The newcomer, a tall, skinny boy with brown, floppy hair, replied, “Stop trying to steal clients, you have plenty. Shoo.” He shooed her off with his free hand, the other being occupied by what looked like a restaurant take-out bag.

Libba begrudgingly scooted a few feet down the sidewalk so she was no longer directly in front of the shop, but didn’t seem too inclined to move farther.

“Uhh…” Scylla said.

“Oh, don’t worry about Libba, she’s harmless. Unless your name is Bellweather.” He stuck his hand out. “So! You must be the ‘Scylla’ I’ve heard so much about. I’m the ‘Byron’ you’ve probably heard so much about.”

Scylla tentatively shook his hand, saying, “...who?”

Byron paused, blinking at her.

“Will you excuse me please?” He straightened his jacket and his hair, before suddenly throwing open the parlor door and sweeping in, yelling, “Raelle! Why doesn’t your almost-girlfriend know who I am?”

Scylla paused as the door began to close, cutting off the noise.

_Soooo, she’s surrounded by weirdos then. Cool. I’ll fit right in._

The thought was a little surprising- imagining herself fitting in with the other people Raelle clearly cared about- but it wasn’t unpleasant.

She darted forward, catching the door just before it closed, and slipped inside.

~.~

Raelle had been in the backroom with Abigail, ducked beneath the printer table and fiddling with the surge protector when Byron’s voice cut through the silence. She managed to slam her head on the underside of the table trying to stand up too fast, and came out of the room swearing.

Then his words sank in.

“What now?” she asked. Then she saw Scylla, leaning against the door behind Byron, holding a little bag in one hand.

_I’ll kill him._

“Uh, she’s not- I never said-” But Byron cut her off.

“Seriously?! I have to listen to you go on and on about her all shift and you don’t tell her anything about me? Your best friend!” Byron went on, laying a take-out bag on the table and putting his hands on his hips.

Raelle’s eyes darted nervously between Byron and Scylla, who fortunately seemed amused by the scene.

“Ex-best friend. You can go now,” she told him.

Byron gasped dramatically, “The insult continues. I bring you food, listen to your crush-related ramblings, and height-related woes, and this is my thanks? I’m hurt.”

“Good thing you’re a paramedic then. Are you done now?”

“I don’t know, how embarrassed are you? No, wait, I can do better.” He turned to Scylla. “She talks about you constantly. It’s gross. She likes you a lot-”

He was cut off by Raelle charging him and pulling him into a headlock.

“You are dead to me,” she growled, holding him so he was bent practically double. She looked up to see Scylla’s reaction and was somewhat relieved and embarrassed that she was laughing into her hands.

She shoved Byron away from her, ignoring his complaints. She turned to Scylla, dusting her hands off on her jeans.

“Sorry about-”

“Oh hi!” came an overly bright, falsely happy voice from behind her.

_Oh, fuck._

Raelle turned and found what she was expecting: Tally, standing in the hall entrance, with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. 

_Don’t do this to me Tal, we were settled._

Glory was chuckling expectantly behind her desk as Tally sauntered forward, throwing an arm around Raelle’s tense shoulders. 

The backroom door opened a crack.

“Welcome back Scylla! We at Circe Tattoo are glad you have decided to continue your tattoo adventure with us.” She slapped a hand onto Raelle's shoulder, hard. “Raelle especially.”

“Please stop,” Raelle ground out between clenched teeth.

“Nonsense! We want our clients to know how much we value them. We are willing to go the extra mile; even so far as to make home visits to check on half-finished tattoos! And good thing she did too- she was gone an awful long time, and I’d hate to think there was anything wrong with it!”

Byron was in tears, gasping for breath and clutching the arm of the couch for support. Glory was cackling at her desk. Scylla’s eyebrows had nearly climbed into her hairline.

Raelle’s face was in her hands, bright red and burning.

_If there’s a god, she hates me._

While she was considering moving across the country, a pair of hands came up and gently pulled her own away from her face. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, so she was surprised when a cool pair of lips pressed to her cheek.

She looked up, startled to see Scylla now standing next to her.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I got this.” And she winked.

Scylla held out the small bag she carried towards Tally, who took it hesitantly, suspicion on her face.

“Raelle told me about… yesterday’s incident,” Scylla said, glancing between Tally and Glory. “She wanted to make amends and asked me to bring that,” she said, pointing at the little bag.

Raelle looked at her confused, but Scylla just smiled. Tally opened the bag and peered inside. Suddenly she gasped and bounced on the balls of her feet, reaching in to pull out a mini cactus.

“Yay! A succulent! Finally,” she said gleefully. She wrapped Raelle in a suffocating hug. “Thank you, Rae. You’re the sweetest and I forgive you for being a shit.” She kissed Raelle on the cheek. “Also, I love you. Okay! Gotta find a good place for it.” She whirled out of the room, calling for Glory to come help her.

Raelle stood in stunned silence, trying to process the past few minutes. She looked at Scylla, who was now smirking.

“I- y-you did… thank you? What just happened?”

Byron said, “Don’t think about it too hard, you’ll hurt yourself.

“Didn’t I say you could go?” she snapped back.

“Hey, I’m just the middle man.” He patted the food bag. “Jess sent you dinner since you cancelled earlier.”

“Oh, come on,” Scylla said, looking incredulous. To Raelle she said, “Seriously, what’s with all the free food? Don’t tell me it’s just because you’re a regular.”

“Is _that_ what she told you?” Byron said before Raelle could reply. He laughed, “Of course she did. So tight-lipped about the ‘hero work’.” He rolled his eyes. “ _I’ll_ tell you; I have no such hubris.”

Ignoring Raelle’s glare, he continued, “So back when we first started we realized that a lot of calls would come out of restaurants- for people choking. Also, allergic reactions but that’s different. These are people who don’t necessarily need to go to the hospital, they just need some good choking first aid. Restaurants have those little CPR charts ‘n things up that are supposed to tell you what to do, but when there’s panic no one’s really looking for those. And lots of people who work in food aren’t CPR certified or have any kind of first aid training, because it’s not required and owners don’t want to pay for it.”

He walked over and slapped Raelle on the back.

“So Sunshine here decided we could save ourselves a lot of those calls by doing a class. She registered a CPR class with the city, paid for most of it herself- me ‘n the girls helped- and invited a bunch of restaurant owners to send people out. And _boy_ did they. We had to do a second class, in the end. But by then some politician found out about our ‘humanitarian efforts’ and footed the bill for some PR. A lot of owners were super grateful, so they give us a lot of free food now.”

He finished, hugging Raelle one-armed around the shoulder, while Scylla stood looking slightly amazed at Raelle. 

“Wow,” was all she said.

Raelle concentrated on glowering at the door, not looking at either of them.

“She likes to pretend she’s heartless and grumpy,” Byron said patronizingly, “but we all know that she cares and likes to help people. And now you know it too!” he said triumphantly. “My work here is done.”

He ruffled Raelle’s hair affectionately, bowed dramatically to Scylla, and swept out the door.

Eventually, Scylla broke the long silence by saying, “I can… pretend I didn’t hear any of that?”

Raelle exhaled heavily through her nose, rubbing her eyes.

“You’re too kind,” she said grumpily. “I’ll be fine, if the universe is done torturing me for the day.”

She smiled despite her best intentions when Scylla’s hand slid into hers. She finally met her eyes and immediately felt some of the tension in her shoulders dissipate. She took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders, cracked her neck, and squeezed Scylla’s hand.

“Okay, enough shenanigans. Shall we?”

“Yes please,” Scylla chuckled. She held up a piece of paper in her hand. “Oh, some girl outside- Libba?- handed me this.”

Raelle looked over it and rolled her eyes.

“Okay, stand clear,” she said, drawing them out of line of the door. Ignoring Scylla’s confused look, she shouted towards the backroom door, “Abby! Libba’s outside!”

The words had barely left her mouth before Abigail came hurtling out of the backroom, vaulting over the desk with a spray bottle in her hand, and went flying out the door. A second later, shouting could be heard and Abigail could be seen squirting someone just out of view of the windows.

Scylla stared, mouth agape, while Raelle just shook her head.

“Come on,” she said, tugging Scylla’s hand, “let’s ditch the circus.”

~.~

Down the hall, Raelle sent Scylla on ahead and was going to check in on Tally and her new plant, but Tally’s door was… closed?

_Her door’s never closed, not even when she’s working usually. Weird._

She knocked. “Tal, you good?”

There was a small clatter.

“Uh, yeah! We’re fine! Carry on!”

Raelle stared at the door, considering busting in, but decided against it. Instead she smirked, and followed Scylla.

~.~

Raelle ducked into her room and closed the door, shutting out the madness brought by all these dumb people she loved so much. She rested her head against the wood, taking a deep breath; she smiled when she felt a small, warm hand rest against her back.

She turned to find Scylla watching her with equal parts amusement and concern, and no small amount of affection. She took hold of Scylla’s hand as it trailed around to her side, bringing it up to her lips.

“Hey,” she said softly. Scylla pressed her hand against Raelle’s cheek, stroking it with her thumb.

“Hey,” she replied. Raelle’s smile grew wider as she hooked her free arm around Scylla’s waist and pulled her closer. She leaned in, waiting to see if Scylla would pull away and happy when she didn’t. She brushed her lips across Scylla’s cheek and over to her lips, kissing her softly. They both smiled into the kiss, making it feel even more intimate.

It was short but very sweet, and they rested their foreheads together after, smiling like idiots.

 _She’s so beautiful. I want her; I want to be_ with _her.  
_

“Scyl, will you-”

And then the fucking door opened.

Raelle swung her head around without letting go of Scylla to glare at the hand waving through the cracked door.

“What, Abigail? Shit.”

Abigail’s head poked through, reading the room and rolling her eyes.

“Sorry, Shitbird, I know you’re super busy and hard at work on this tattoo but…” She shouldered the door open and leaned on the frame. Raelle reluctantly extracted herself from Scylla with a mumbled apology and turned to face her. “Tally’s still shut up in her room,” Abigail continued. “What’d you do?”

Raelle scowled. “If you go listen, Bellweather, you’ll realize she’s not in there alone. And if you listen harder you’ll probably figure out what they’re _doing_.”

Abigail paused, mental gears turning. Slowly her expression turned to shock, and Raelle couldn’t help but crack a grin.

“Oh _shit_ . No way…” Abigail looked back toward Tally’s door, mouth open in shock, but slowly spreading into a grin. “That’s my _girl_! I’m so proud,” she said with a hand dramatically on her chest.

“And yet, I have never known peace,” Raelle grumbled.

Abigail brushed her off, “Pine after someone for years, then we’ll talk.” She glanced at Scylla. “Although just a couple of weeks has been bad enough from you.”

Raelle felt her face heating up again.

“Oh good, I was worried you’d miss out on exposing me earlier.”

“Never.” Abigail rubbed her hands together. “Okay, who won the pool?”

“What? Nobody, the pool’s for when they hook-up and there’s not _that_ much noise coming from her room. Also, Tal’s got a client still, she’s not leaving.”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “Yeah, her client is _Glory_ , Rae. She was going to finish the half sleeve on her arm.” Abigail smirked. “Five bucks says they have other plans now.”

Raelle shook her head doubtfully and went over to her desk, looking apologetically at Scylla. She was perched on the table, clearly entertained.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said, amused.

Raelle fished around in a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. There was a decent sized list of names on it, including Byron and Libba, and even Tally’s mother. Raelle brought it over to Abigail, but froze right before she handed it over.

“Wait, when the fuck did _Anacostia_ get added to this??” she asked incredulously

Abigail scoffed, “Please, she’s been in since the beginning, I just never wrote it down. She doesn’t doesn’t want anyone to think she’s like us or anything.” She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, snatching the paper out of Raelle’s hand.

While she looked it over, Raelle explained to Scylla, “Anacostia was our student advisor in college. _I_ think she would’ve done better as a drill sergeant or something, but I am often ignored,” she added piteously while Scylla giggled.

“You’re not tall enough to have opinions,” Abigail remarked offhandedly. Looking up she addressed Scylla. “We keep in touch with Anacostia because she’s awesome and she pretends not to like us, but Tally says she does. Tally’s always right.”

Raelle glared at her again, herding her out the door. “Well thanks for stopping by, but bye.”

She got Abigail into the hallway where they both abruptly stopped and stared. 

Tally was leading Glory by the hand towards the front. Both looked slightly disheveled and flushed, and they were clearly trying to be sneaky. They froze, Tally looking back at Raelle and Abigail, Glory looking determinedly anywhere else.

Tally finally spoke.

“Sooo… I’m just gonna take Glory home now. She, um, wants to reschedule the session. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“You don’t have a car, Tal.”

“She doesn’t live that far, I’m sure you’ll be back in time to help close.”

Abigail and Raelle spoke quickly, one after the other, smirking at Tally. Raelle was happy to be able to dish back some of the discomfort Tally had caused her earlier. Tally just glared at them before covering Glory’s ears and saying something extremely rude.

She escaped with Glory while Raelle and Abigail laughed.

Raelle shook her head, happy for her girl more than anything else. She pulled her wallet out of her pocket and drew out a five dollar bill. She slapped it into Abigail’s hand and said, “Alright, enough shenanigans. Call Anacostia and tell her she won, but if she wants to collect she better come visit us.” She gave Abigail a shove towards the front. “Get thee away from me, foul demon, I have work to do.”

~.~

Back in her room, Scylla was still perched on the table, fiddling on her phone while she waited. Raelle closed the door firmly behind her and walked over, tapping her on the knee. Scylla looked up and smiled.

“Hiya.”

“Hey, I’m sorry about all that. I swear they're not usually like this.” Raelle paused and reconsidered. “Well, they are, but not when I have a client.” She shrugged.

Scylla chuckled and spread her knees, pulling Raelle to stand between them. It put her perfectly at a height to lean in and kiss Raelle’s neck, so she did. Leaning up slightly, she planted another one on her cheek.

She said, “It’s fine, really. I’m not in a rush, obviously, and I like watching you guys interact. Aside from being endlessly entertaining, it’s also kind of sweet.” She winked, resting her hands on Raelle’s hips.

Raelle brushed a lock of hair behind Scylla’s ear. “Ugh, no they’re the worst,” she said, but there was only affection there. She was just glad Scylla didn’t seem overwhelmed by them. “I guess all families have their fair share of crazy. How about yours?”

Scylla’s smile faltered and she looked away.

“Oh. Um…”

Raelle backpedaled. “No it’s okay! You don’t have to tell me,” she said quickly. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to pry or anything.”

Scylla was silent for a moment, and Raelle panicked that she had crossed a line.

But finally she said, “No it’s fine. Don’t worry.” She offered a weak but reassuring smile. “I, um, don’t talk about myself a lot. Usually. But I like talking to you. Maybe this can just be… a later talk?” Scylla looked back at Raelle, meeting her eyes hopefully.

_Oh, Scyl._

Raelle reached out and cupped Scylla’s face in both hands, kissing her forehead gently.

_I got you._

“Whenever you want.”

Scylla smiled gratefully as Raelle stroked her cheeks, and she tucked her face into her neck for a moment.

_How soon can you start falling in l-_

“Hey,” Raelle said, stopping her own thoughts. “Let’s get this tattoo done, yeah? No more stalling.”

Scylla sat back and grimaced, eyeing the tray of inks and needles.

“Ugh, if we must. I think you’re just trying to get me out of my shirt again though.”

Raelle chuckled low in her throat. 

“That too.”

Scylla rolled her eyes and removed her tank top while Raelle set the chair up and pulled her tray table over.

Once Scylla was settled in the chair, Raelle snapped some gloves on and leaned over the half-finished tattoo, examining it with her eyes and fingertips. Satisfied that had healed well so far, she nodded to herself and picked up her needle.

“Alright, ready?”

Scylla shook her head ‘no’. Raelle cocked an eyebrow at her, so she begrudgingly nodded ‘yes’.

“Dope, let’s go. Breathe normal, don’t clench, no flirting while the needle’s going, et cetera.”

That got a chuckle of disbelief out of Scylla, but Raelle just shrugged.

She started up the needle and got to work.

~.~

A couple hours in they decided to stop for a brief water and stretch break. Scylla sat up crossed-legged in the chair while Raelle reclined against her desk. So far, Scylla had refused even to glance down at her chest, declaring that she wanted to wait for the full effect of the finished piece, and that she trusted Raelle to do it well.

That’s about when Raelle had decided it was break time, so she could get her blush and fluttering heart under control.

“So,” Scylla began, “Libba?”

Raelle sighed, “Ah yes. Libba Swythe. She and Abigail have been ‘arch-enemies’ since birth, basically. It’s a family thing, very dramatic. But she went to the same art school as us, same year and everything. They were always competing. Super annoying.”

“So they hate each other?”

“Well yeah but they’re best friends too.”

Scylla stared at her. “You have strange friends.”

“You grow weird funguses in a secret backroom.”

“...continue.”

Raelle smirked. “Sometime during that first year, they both managed to pull their heads out of their asses long enough to realize they’re actually pretty similar people and they work well together. They’ve done a few non-tattoo-related art collaborations now. They’re on display somewhere, probably important, not sure.”

Entirely untrue, of course, and it seemed that Scylla could tell. Raelle knew exactly where each of Abigail’s art pieces were displayed, collaboration or not, in the city or elsewhere, and was already planning to take Scylla to see some of them.

If she ever got around to asking for that date.

“It’s gotta be easier with them being friends though, right?” Scylla asked.

“You’d think, but no. Now there’s _two_ powerhouses taking everything to the extreme. Even Tally can’t handle them when they really get going on something.”

“So if they’re friends, technically, why does she try to steal clients?”

“They’re still competitive as hell. Plus, we do the same to her. If we weren’t busy tonight, one of us probably would’ve been out in front of her shop stealing clients too.” Raelle had on a wide, toothy grin. “It’s all in good fun, mostly. We all have enough clients to go around, and if we can’t accommodate someone, we pass them along. If I hadn’t heroically offered to do your tattoo, you might’ve been sent to Libba,” Raelle added with a wink.

“I dunno, Libba was cute, I might’ve been okay with her,” Scylla teased.

“Wait, what? No.”

Scylla laughed at Raelle’s hurt expression and protests.

“Did you also meet Byron in that college?”

Raelle grumbled a little but then responded, “No he went to a different college not far from us. Ours was a women’s college. Abigail made me ‘n Tally do a club sport with her. Nothing crazy, just as a side thing. We did lacrosse. Byron did too and we met doing some inter-university sport thing. Who knows, I was dragged everywhere against my will.”

What followed was Scylla joining the long list of people who crack jokes about Raelle’s height and general size.

While Scylla cackled in her chair, Raelle crossed her arms and groused, “Unbelievable. I thought you would be different, but clearly I have misjudged you.” When Scylla shrugged through her chuckles, Raelle added, “Also- you’re like, an inch shorter than me, Ramshorn.”

“Doesn’t matter. Watch- no one will ever make a crack about my height, unless it is directly in conjunction with yours,” Scylla said confidently.

Raelle grumbled some more and rolled her stool over, flapping her hands for Scylla to lay back again.

“Enough being rude, my turn again,” she said, picking up her needle as Scylla got comfortable.

Once Raelle had stopped bristling, Scylla asked, “So how did you and Byron end up as EMT partners?”

Raelle continued working as she answered, keeping her eyes on her shading.

“Well he’s a paramedic, not an EMT. That’s me. Sometimes people don’t know there’s a difference.”

“And that would be…?”

“Schooling, mostly. Paramedic is basically a highest-level EMT. There’s things he can do that I can’t yet.” Raelle winced at the slip of words.

Scylla was sharp though, and caught it.

“Yet?” she asked.

“Um, yes. ‘Yet.’ There’s a two-year course to take and then a state licensing test. Then I’d be a paramedic like Byron; gold patch instead of silver. He’s only got a couple years on me though. And we started working as EMTs at the same time.”

“And… where are you on that course?”

There was a lengthy moment where the only sound was the whirring needle.

Then:

“Graduated this summer.”

Raelle didn’t look up as she answered, so she didn’t see Scylla’s reaction.

“That’s… great? Isn’t it?”

Raelle nodded but didn’t say anything.

A few moments passed in silence before Raelle felt a light tap on her free hand. She finished a few more strokes and paused, head tilted toward Scylla but still not looking up.

“Raelle? Please?”

How was she supposed to deny that?

She finally met Scylla’s eyes and saw concern, yes, but also understanding. Scylla’s right hand came up and brushed along Raelle’s cheek, warm and soft. Raelle sighed and leaned into the touch a little.

“I’m sorry,” she said, speaking finally.

“Don’t be,” Scylla replied. “You really don’t like talking about this. I won’t pry.”

Raelle frowned, struggling to fish some words out of her chest.

“I’m going to get licensed. I just… can’t right now. And I like working for EMS. I just…” she trailed off, frustrated that the words would not come.

Scylla placed her thumb over Raelle’s lips.

“Shh, it’s okay. This can be a ‘later talk’ too. Whenever you want,” she said, smiling in a way that made Raelle’s heart stutter.

Impulsively, she leaned up and kissed Scylla on the lips, briefly. Scylla was obviously surprised, but kissed her back nonetheless.

“Thanks,” Raelle said, finally cracking a smile.

They both resettled and the conversation turned to lighter topics as the coloring resumed.

~.~

Hours later, Raelle sat back one final time, gave it all one final look-over, and smiled.

_Perfect. Maybe my best work yet._

She was pretty proud of herself; each element had been extremely well executed and they all came together to create a picture that looked bright and vibrant and realistic.

_Doesn’t mean a thing if she doesn't like it._

Despite being confident in her work, Raelle couldn’t help but be a little nervous that Scylla wouldn’t like something about it. She helped her out of the chair, making sure she wasn’t wobbly or stiff from being seated for so long. She faced Scylla toward the full-length mirror and waited.

For several long, nerve-wracking minutes, nothing was said as Scylla carefully examined the entire tattoo. She blocked her own expression in the mirror, so Raelle couldn’t get any idea of what she was thinking.

_She hates it. She hates it and I’ll have to pay for the laser and probably she won’t want to go out with me. Should’ve sent her to Libba._

_Calm down, lesbian. Haven’t you been dramatic enough for one day?_

Raelle was still cringing over how lame she’d been earlier about all the EMS stuff when Scylla finally turned back around.

Raelle was beyond relieved to see a massive grin across her face. She laughed as Scylla threw herself forward to wrap her good arm around Raelle’s shoulders and hugged her tightly. Raelle wrapped her own arms around Scylla’s waist, mindful of the new tattoo, and returned the hug.

“So it’s ok then?” Raelle asked, propping her chin over Scylla’s shoulder.

Scylla’s response was muffled by Raelle’s neck, where she had tucked her face.

“It’s perfect, I love it, thank you.”

Raelle felt several kisses being placed where her shoulder and neck met and giggled to herself. She disentangled herself so she could get the plastic wrap placed over it and not have to worry about accidentally scratching the area.

Patting it in place she said, “Nice and safe. Now where were we?”

She laughed as Scylla eagerly pulled her in for a kiss.

~.~

Raelle once again had Scylla sitting up on her table, but now for a very different reason.

Scylla moaned as Raelle slid her tongue down her neck, leaving little bites as she went. One hand was buried roughly in Scylla’s hair, the other was holding them up as she leaned over her. Scylla’s legs were locked around her waist, her hands slipping under her shirt to slide up her back. Raelle groaned as she felt nails lightly scrape over her skin.

She released Scylla’s neck with a wet sound and returned to her lips. Scylla parted them for her eagerly at the first touch of her tongue, whimpering as Raelle licked into her mouth.

Heat and pressure were building inside Raelle as she tried to mold herself more tightly to Scylla. She felt like she couldn’t get close enough.

_Need more._

“Scylla,” she gasped, breaking away for air. It was her turn to moan as Scylla slowed them down, placing light, teasing kisses on the most sensitive parts of her neck. “T-tease,” she stuttered.

Scylla gave a low chuckle, “Just waiting for you to make good on those promises from yesterday.”

_Fucking tables._

Raelle wrenched herself away from Scylla, turning to survey her room, which she had yet to clean up. 

“Abigail will kill me if I leave this for her to clean. She will not be kind about it. It’s a slow death, Scyl.”

Raelle shuddered as she felt Scylla slide off the table and press herself against her back, breath hot against her neck. Scylla put her hands back under Raelle’s shirt, on her stomach: one began to slide upwards, the other enticingly lower.

“I promise to make it worth your while,” came the heated whisper.

_Fuck._

“Fuck,” Raelle groaned. She spun around, collecting Scylla’s hands in hers and pinning them behind the girl’s back so she could be safe from them. She needed a moment to think somewhat clearly.

She leaned in to kiss Scylla again, thinking be damned, and was rewarded with another desperate noise from her.

Pulling away with a slick pop, Scylla said, “I know I told you I live near my shop.” Raelle made a sound, barely absorbing her words. “I actually live upstairs from my shop.”

_Let the Bellweather do her worst._

Raelle pulled away from her once more and gave her a little shove towards her things. She then quickly started throwing away and wiping down what she could, pretty haphazardly, until Scylla was tugging her towards the door.

Running a hand through her hair to try and gain some semblance of control and order, Raelle went out into the hall, Scylla following close behind.

Out front, Abigail was behind the desk, likely finishing up Glory’s nightly bookkeeping. It was late, and Raelle winced, knowing Abigail was probably planning to go home after she was done with that.

Abigail looked up as they came into view, taking in their disheveled appearances. 

She rolled her eyes, saying, “I hope you didn’t go too far, Rae, that’s really unsanitary in a tattoo room.”

“We didn’t!” Raelle protested. “Which, um, brings me to a question…” She trailed off but Abigail caught on.

“You’re shitting me.”

“Please Abby, please close for me,” Raelle pleaded.

“Did you at least clean up your room?”

Raelle winced and smiled apologetically.

Abigail glared, drumming her fingers on the desk. Finally, she rolled her eyes and turned back to the books.

“Get out of here, Shitbird. You owe me. You and Tally both.”

Raelle smiled and ran over to hug Abigail. She had good sisters.

“We’ve known that for years, Abs.” She kissed her cheek in an unusual display of affection, then went back to take Scylla’s hand and tow her towards the door.

“Thank you Abby! Love you!” she shouted as they left.

She heard a dismissive, “Yeah, yeah,” as the door closed, but she didn’t worry about it.

She knew Abigail would be smiling.

~.~

They stumbled through the shop’s door, Scylla feeling blindly for the handle to lock it behind them. She backed Raelle against the counter and held her there with a hand on her chest, just long enough to lock up and set the alarm. Then she pulled her back in roughly by the front of her shirt.

Scylla walked them to the door behind the counter, which led upstairs. For a moment they stopped there, so Raelle could press her against the wood and ravage her neck, certainly leaving marks. Her hands were sunk into Scylla’s back pockets, pulling their hips together while Scylla held on to her shoulders tightly, trying to stay upright.

Finally they were moving again, Scylla pulling Raelle up the stairs and into her apartment. The door swung shut but she didn’t feel like trying to lock it. The only way up was through the shop and Raelle’s lips felt too good pressed under her jaw.

Their shirts ended up somewhere on the kitchen floor, forgotten between heated kisses and grasping hands.

As effortlessly as she had the day before, Raelle picked Scylla up, one arm supporting her weight and the other wrapped securely around her back. Her surprising strength never failed to take Scylla’s breath away.

_Shit, how else can she use that strength? Artist’s hands, artist’s fingers…_

Her thoughts were becoming less coherent by the minute as she pointed the way to her bedroom.

Raelle deposited her onto the bed, divesting them both of their shoes before joining her. She crawled over Scylla, kissing her way up her sternum back to her lips. She paused, laying over Scylla, who found she rather enjoyed the weight of Raelle on top of her. It felt safe.

Raelle slowed, kissing her softly, before asking, “Is this okay, Scyl? I don’t want to do anything you don’t want.”

Scylla smiled, placing a hand on her cheek.

“This is _perfect_ , Raelle. I want this. I want _you_. Please?”

Raelle smiled, leaning down to kiss her again, slow and deep.

_Is it too soon to be falling in l-_

“Hey,” Raelle said, interrupting her thought. “You know, we have to be careful with this,” she said, tapping the plastic still covering the fresh ink.

Scylla frowned.

Raelle continued, “I can still make good on some of those promises.” Scylla shuddered and held back a moan as Raelle placed a hand on her stomach and started sliding it down. She leaned into Scylla’s ear and whispered, “I can even be rough if you want.”

Scylla whimpered and bit her lip.

Raelle kissed down from her ear to her chest, mindful of the plastic, and stated, “You just have to stay on your back, Scyl.”

Scylla’s eyes slid closed and she moaned as Raelle began to kiss her way back down her body.

_I thought the tattoo hurt, but this girl is going to kill me._

The last coherent thought she had before submitting to whatever teasing and torture Raelle had in mind for her, was that there were probably worse ways to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glory must be protected from all profanity, she's too good.  
> So we have some idea of Raelle and Scylla's backstory issues from the show, but what's going on here? Hmmm... (Could there possibly be a sequel coming?)
> 
> Only one chapter left! :O It'll be a short epilogue, but we'll see what happens next :)
> 
> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


	7. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after- new perspective, new outlook, and hopefully many more mornings to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we're finally at the end. I'm not crying it's just dusty in the club. Thanks to everyone who supported this fic and provided lots of wonderful feedback and suggestions. If you're not ready to let go of all these girls (+Byron, ofc) check out  
> [Ceding the Crease](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969520/chapters/60446806), the season 1 re-write as a lacrosse au, which has a few chapters still to go. Or any of my [other works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph/works) also for MFS.
> 
> No beta, hope I'm getting better at this, yolo
> 
> Disclaimer: gay, soft, etc

Soft light came to rest on Raelle’s face, drawing her out of sleep. She clenched her eyes, trying to keep it out and pressed her face into the warm body in front of her. She felt her mind waking up, despite her best effort to stay dormant, and groaned slightly as she realized she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep.

Cracking her eyes open to take stock of her surroundings, she realized she wasn’t in the worst spot.

She was pressed flush against Scylla’s bare back, their legs tangled together. Her left arm was wrapped around the girl’s waist; the other was currently serving as a pillow. She nuzzled her face further into the back of Scylla’s neck, breathing in the scent of her hair.

_ Not the worst way to wake up, actually. _

Raelle smiled, running her nose along the back of the sleeping girl’s neck, feeling the soft hairs tickle her lips. She pressed little kisses there and across her shoulder and was startled when she suddenly hit plastic.

  
  


_ “Raelle…” Scylla whined, trying to tug her back down. Raelle chuckled and obliged- for the moment- laying back down. Scylla hummed happily, pulling her in for a slow, lazy kiss. They laid like that for a few minutes, cuddled as close as they could get, basking in the afterglow. _

_ Finally Raelle rose to her knees, letting the sheet fall away and revealing herself to Scylla’s appreciative gaze. She was distracted just enough that Raelle managed to get off the bed without protest. That changed once she started to pull Scylla into a sitting position, however. _

_ “Come on, Scyl,” she said, ignoring Scylla’s groan of protest. _

_ “Why? It’s fine, we don’t need to get up. My legs don’t work.” _

_ Raelle smirked. “You’re welcome,” she said smugly. “Come on, the faster you let me do this, the sooner we can get back in bed.” _

_ Scylla sighed and sat up, plucking at the edges of the plastic encasing her shoulder and most of her chest. _

_ “But it’s happy the way it is,” she said. She reached out her other hand to run it up the inside of Raelle’s bare thigh in a last attempt to entice the girl back to bed. _

_ Instead, Raelle caught her wandering hand before it could get anywhere interesting and brought it up to her lips, kissing each finger. _

_ “Nice try,” Raelle said, amused. “It’s a large piece, Scyl. Lots of color. Trust me- you don’t want it sticking to your sheets or rubbing. And it’s just one night, you’ll live.” _

_ Scylla rolled her eyes, acquiescing. She started to peel the plastic away, only for it to pull slightly against her skin. Raelle’s hands replaced her own, easing it off. _

_ “Left it too long,” she said. “Should’ve had it off sooner.” She shrugged as the plastic began to release its hold on Scylla’s skin, making the area itchy. _

_ “Well, we’ve been busy,” Scylla said slyly. Raelle just winked at her. _

_ Once it was all off, Raelle said, “Okay, go wash it. Warm water, antibacterial soap, you know the drill. Then lotion.” _

_ “And nothing scented, yes, I know,” Scylla said, standing. _

_ Raelle smiled and kissed her cheek. _

_ “Smart, I knew I liked you.” She gave Scylla a pat on the butt and sent her into the bathroom. “I’ll get more plastic wrap and meet you back here.” _

_ “Fine. Last one back is the little spoon.” _

_ Raelle laughed, disappearing from the bedroom. _

  
  


Raelle was pulled from her reminiscing by a low buzzing sound. She picked her head up, careful not to disturb the girl next to her, trying to locate the noise. Eventually she determined it was coming from across the room somewhere, on the floor.

She was debating whether or not she should go investigative, when Scylla began to stir in her arms. Raelle turned her attention back, smiling when Scylla began to turn over, stretching with the cutest little noise.

Her eyes scrunched adorably against the intruding sunlight and her hair was messy- Raelle thought she looked captivating.

She chuckled low in her throat. “Cute,” she said, brushing her nose against Scylla’s.

“Mmm, wha-?” Scylla said thickly, her voice heavy with sleep.

“You. In the morning. Sleepy. It’s cute,” Raelle replied, peppering Scylla’s cheek and nose with kisses between each sentence. Scylla groaned and tried to hide her face.

“Ugh, gross, are you a morning person?”

“Ew, no, never. I’m insulted,” Raelle said, horrified at the thought. “You’re just one of the better things I’ve woken up to, is all.”

Scylla scoffed, “Unbelievable. How are you this smooth this early? It’s not fair, my brain cells aren’t awake yet.”

Raelle didn’t reply with words, just turned Scylla’s face upwards so she could kiss her properly.

They might’ve lain there for some time, exchanging lazy morning kisses (or more) if the buzzing noise hadn’t started up again.

“Ugh,” Scylla said exasperatedly, pulling away. “What is that? Make it stop,” she said, giving Raelle a small shove.

“Why me? I’m comfy,” she replied, making a show of pulling the bed sheet up and burrowing underneath with Scylla. Her hand found skin and began to wander.

“Uh uh,” Scylla said, wiggling away. “None of that until you make the buzzing stop.”

“You don’t know it’s mine,” Raelle said, undeterred. She inched herself closer, trailing her fingertips along Scylla’s side, trying to lean in to taste her skin. She felt Scylla waver, heard her breath hitch, and for a moment she thought she won.

Then…

“Nope, those are your pants. Mine are hanging off the chair,” she said, pointing.

Raelle sighed and grumbled, extracting herself from the bed sheets. She padded over to the pile of her clothes, feeling Scylla’s gaze on her back, and dug through until she pulled out her jeans.

She fished out her phone, silencing it finally, and noticed a couple of unread texts.

“Hoo boy,” she said, walking back to the bed. “The girls are chattin’. Let me see what the hype is about.” Scylla chuckled and nodded as Raelle sat on the edge of the bed. She crawled up behind her, wrapping her arms around her middle and resting her chin on her shoulder, reading the exchange.

  
  


_ High Atlantic, 8:57: So. Am I the only one who didn’t get laid last night? _

_ High Energy, 9:01: Abby! That’s rude. _

_ You, 9:05: But yes. :) _

_ High Atlantic, 9:06: Unbelievable. _

_ You, 9:07: Well if you both weren’t so painfully straight I’d tell you to hit up Libba. _

_ High Atlantic, 9:07:  _ 🖕🏿

_ High Energy, 9:07: Rae! _

_ You, 9:08:  _ 😂

_ High Energy, 9:08: Good one Raelle -Glory _

_ High Atlantic, 9:10: You’re coming in today,  _ right _ Raelle? And you too Tally. I know where you both live- I  _ will _ put sardines in your closets. _

_ You, 9:10: tf _

_ High Energy, 9:10:  _ 😨

_ High Energy, 9:10: We’’ll be there -Glory _

_ You, 9:11: I won’t, I’m off today. _

_ High Atlantic, 9:12: NO YOU’RE NOT SHITBIRD. You have a client at 2 and then the late shift with Byron. _

_ You, 9:14:  _ 😠

_ High Atlantic, 9:14:  _ 😠

_ High Energy, 9:14: Children… _

_ You, 9:17: Fine. But if you’re just gonna be (more) uptight from now on, I’m making you a tinder profile. _

_ High Atlantic, 9:17: I hate you. _

_ High Energy, 9:17: No you don’t. _

_ High Energy, 9:18: idk she might -Glory _

_ You, 9:20: She’s all yours later but for now she’s all mine and I’m not done with her yet. Bye  _ ✌️ _ -Scylla _

  
  


Scylla sent the text and then sat back, watching Raelle read and process it. She turned around wide-eyed, staring at Scylla.

“Uh… what?”

Scylla chuckled. “What? You’re not due ‘til two. So you’re mine until then, unless there’s somewhere else you’d rather be?”

Raelle wordlessly shook her head.

_ No thank you, here is great. _

“Um, so, I have to leave later but maybe we can get breakfast first? Or lunch, maybe, if we’re going to be busy again…” Raelle trailed off, swallowing heavily. “Also, um, I’ve been meaning to ask for for like, two weeks now- well, since we met, really- but do you want to go on a date with me? A real one? Friday, maybe? It’s the last street fair this year.”

Scylla smiled brightly and nodded, and a knot came loose in Raelle’s chest.

Scylla crawled over and swung a leg over Raelle’s lap, straddling her. She lowered herself until she was sitting comfortably and buried her fingers in Raelle’s hair. Raelle felt her breathing quicken and her heartbeat pick up as she gripped Scylla’s sides tightly.

“Sounds good,” Scylla said in a low voice. She bit her lip and pressed herself against Raelle, nosing just under her jaw. Raelle tilted her head back, sighing at the feel of Scylla’s lips brushing along her neck.

“So when you said ‘breakfast’,” Scylla continued, nipping Raelle’s ear and drawing out a gasp, “did you mean real food? Or…” Raelle’s fingers clenched, digging into Scylla’s hips.

“That- ah, fuck- that too,” Raelle gasped out. Scylla pulled back to look at her, running her tongue across her lips.

Raelle surged up to meet Scylla’s kiss eagerly; the cellphone slid off the bed, forgotten.

Just as she was about to let herself go, however, Scylla suddenly pulled back.

“Oh, you know what?” She tsk’d. “Totally forgot about tattoo care. Gotta take the plastic off, wash it- you know the drill,” she said in a voice that suggested she knew exactly what she was doing.

_ What? _

_ … _

_ Evil. _

“You,” Raelle said, wrapping both arms around Scylla to prevent her escaping, “are a terrible tease. And you will pay for it,” she continued, biting Scylla’s non-tattooed shoulder.

Scylla’s head fell back and she sighed.

“Promise?”

Raelle growled and stood, lifting Scylla with her. She planted a knee on the bed and pivoted, depositing Scylla onto the mattress with a light bounce. She quickly laid herself over the girl, preventing escape though Scylla didn’t seem to be trying particularly hard to wiggle out.

Holding herself up with one arm, Raelle used the other to hook Scylla’s leg around her waist before sliding her hand all the way up her body from knee to shoulder. She let that hand wander, reveling in the feel of Scylla’s chest pressing against hers every time her breath hitched.

“I- I think,” Scylla said between stuttered breaths, “you’re using me to avoid working. You want an excuse to be late. I’m not against it, but- ah!” She was cut off abruptly by a gasp as Raelle bit down on the sensitive part of her neck, sucking hard and adding to the marks she left last night.

“That’s your perspective,” Raelle said, sliding her lips down Scylla’s neck. Her tongue darted out to taste the warm skin over Scylla’s shoulder as she started across her chest. “My outlook is far more heavily in my favor.”

They fell silent after that, save for some heavy breathing and the occasional moan. They spent the morning wrapped up in each other, happy, warm, and the good kind of sore. Eventually they would rise, clean up, get (a very late) breakfast, and face the day.

But that could wait.

There had been enough interruptions.

Now they had nothing but time, and they would make the most of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was more of an early lunch, really...
> 
> What's this? _Raelle's_ POV in _Scylla's_ space? What could it mean... 
> 
> Guess we'll need a sequel to find out! :D And there _will_ be a sequel, after I get some other projects done. I didn't realize I'd fall in love with this universe so much and now I want to expand. So go ahead and [subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) so you don't miss out! :)
> 
> Hope you liked! Want more? Find me on Tumblr at [lesbitomboyish](https://lesbitomboyish.tumblr.com/). I take requests, prompts, etc, for other ships as well (I'm just very very gay). Or just come to chat, that's cool too.
> 
> [Subscribe to me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realMurph) or this story so you don't miss updates or new postings!
> 
> be happy, stay excellent <3


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